Just Him and Her
by metro.max
Summary: A collection of Tokka vignettes including our favorite Earthbender and warrior duo. Chapter Twenty-five: a follow up to Three Times Toph Was Engaged & One Time She Wasn't
1. First

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, or else it would suck. Not even kidding.

**Author's Notes: **This is going to be a collection of oneshots that are so short and/or so lacking in substance that I couldn't possibly post them on their own. But together, they create a collection of random Tokka love! Yay Tokka love! I will update when I want to, which will be who-knows-when. I've got several ideas, though, that I really want to write, and some that I'm losing interest in but will write anyway. So expect some updates soon. XD

Don't forget to **review**!

Alisa

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_Just Him and Her_

**First**

When he first asked her ("Toph, would you like to—I mean, do you want to, maybe, sometime… go out? With me?"), she hadn't been sure whether to jump in his arms or throw rocks at him. To compromise, she arched an eyebrow at him and tried to hide the way her cheeks were flaming.

He shifted his feet and if she listened very hard, she could feel the way his heart was beating. Her eyes widened. "You weren't joking." A statement, not a question, and one of shock at that.

He gave a loud, fake laugh. "Ha! Of course I was joking! You should have seen your face!" His heart was going crazy, she noted, never mind that he just insulted her for what seemed like the twelfth time that day.

"No, you weren't," she corrected him. "I can feel your heart beat—you're lying."

"Well, even if I wasn't lying—" He sputtered for a moment before saying, "This was a stupid idea. You don't like me, it doesn't matter. Just… pretend this never happened." First his voice was defensive, then angry and hurt. He was going to try and walk away, she knew it. But she wouldn't let him.

The Earth sunk beneath his feet and in only a moment he was up to his knees in solid rock. He was absolutely stuck, as was her goal.

She marched over to him and poked his chest with a finger, her face in his. "You," she said, and poked his chest again for emphasis, "are not going anywhere."

He was afraid, she could tell, and that made her want to laugh. But instead, she just set her features into a fierce glare and focused her eyes on where she figured his might be.

"I only have one thing to say to you," she growled, her nose nearly touching his and his hot breath on her face. Her voice still low and controlled, she murmured, "When?"

His head pulled away from hers and he said bewilderedly, "What?"

She rolled her blind eyes. "When, Snoozles, when? I don't have all day, you know."

"You're saying… yes?" he asked, still sounding unsure.

She huffed. "What, do you need me to spell it out? If you're really that stupid then maybe I _should_ say no."

He made a sort of odd gulping sound and sputtered, "No! It's too late now, you already said yes!"

She grinned at him for that. "Don't worry, Ponytail, I won't change my mind."

"Good. Oh, and—uh—Toph?" he began, sounding hesitant.

"What is it _now_? Are you going to ask me to marry you too?"

"No! I was going to ask if you could Earthbend me out of here."

She frowned at him, then looked thoughtful. "I don't think I will," she decided.

"Toph!"

She laughed, then did as he wanted. She even Bended the dirt off of him. After thanking her, he stood awkwardly at her side.

"And—Toph?" he asked. "Could I—well, if I were to, maybe…" He trailed off, muttering indecisively to himself.

She sighed. "Let's speak words, Ponytail. Spit it out!"

That's when he kissed her.

It was a nice kiss, she decided, for her first. Nice and soft and gentle and very Sokka-like, which really didn't make any sense in the first place, but it didn't matter because it was him kissing her and who said kissing had to make sense anyway?

He pulled away hesitantly and she could feel him radiating anxiety. Fighting for control of her body, she gave him a smile, and she could tell he was smiling back, even if she couldn't see it.

Cheeks still pink, she punched his shoulder. "C'mon, Snoozles, let's go."

"Go where?" he asked, falling in step with her. His voice sounded a little higher than normal, she noticed, and couldn't help but want to laugh.

She shrugged, then grinned at him, one of those face-splitting grins that made her cheeks hurt. "I was hoping you would know," she bantered. Maybe it was flirting—she didn't know. What _was _flirting, really? She didn't think she knew how to flirt, much less with Sokka.

He laughed, and everything seemed to fall in to place. Everything was right, and she couldn't help but hope it would stay that way. Besides, she could get used to his arm around her shoulders like this—he smelled nice.

**FIN.**


	2. Surprise

**Author's Notes:** Another quick drabble-ish thing for you. I had fun writing this one.

Don't forget to **review**!

Alisa_

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Just Him and Her

**Surprise**

Sokka had to admit, he'd been nearly as surprised by his question as everyone else had been.

On further thought and remembrance, he _might _have been a _little_ drunk when he'd stated his proposal (but isn't that what the best man is supposed to do—get drunk and tell embarrassing stories about the couple?), but that didn't make it any less surprising. If anything, it made it _more_ surprising.

He hadn't even known where it had come from—just a random thought that popped up in the middle of the best man speech (was he supposed to be drunk already?) that he couldn't help but say. He was met with dead silence, of course—every eye was on him, he knew it, he could feel it—and he blinked. But then, he said it again.

Thinking back, he could remember Aang patting Katara on the back as she choked on something, and the look Suki was giving him from down the table—confused, unsure, pained, even, if he squinted his eyes just right. He could see the look his own father had given him—one that probably mirrored his own at that moment—and that small victorious smile on Gran-Gran's lips. She had always liked Toph.

There were murmurs now, rippling throughout the small crowd like a cloud of dust settling down on the Earth. He didn't really care about them, though—he was drunk, remember; the only thing he cared about was what she was going to say.

Sokka, if thinking about it, might wince at the memory—not one of his smoother moments. But really, he'd never been that smooth anyway, especially when it came to her. She'd back him up on that, of course, with a wolfish grin to match.

But one of the things Sokka remembered the most about the moment was just how right it felt. He was never one for spontaneity, but this—this was how it was supposed to be. So what if it was ruining his little sister's wedding reception? It felt good and he was going with it.

The thought had popped in his head for one shining, ethereal moment and it clicked, and it felt right, seemed right, and he'd wondered why he never thought about it before. It would only make sense, wouldn't it, that it would be Toph?

So he asked her. Didn't even turn to her—didn't even start it as its own question, just the continuation of some story about Katara when she had been four. It just slipped out. If he _had_ been smoother, he might had stood next to her or held her hand, but he'd never been smooth around her before, so why start now?

This is when he blinked as if surprised by his own question—and he probably was—before asking her again, and in a sentence all on its own, thank goodness.

She just stared down at her plate as the crowd murmured and Katara choked and people looked shocked or horrified or pleased. Just looked at that plate and turned just the cutest shade of pink.

He heard her loud and clear when she answered, even if she _was_ talking to that plate. She gave a quiet, gentle, "Yes," her hands in her lap and her head still down.

He grinned at her then, a bright, cheery smile that made him want to laugh. "Well, good," he said, and did give a light laugh. "For a moment there I was afraid you were going to say no." He hadn't actually even thought that she might say no, but that sounded like a good, banter-y thing to say regardless, so he said it.

She just smiled at her plate and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

He finished his best man speech after that, with much extra laughter at things that weren't funny which he doubted had anything to do with the wine he'd been drinking. He sat down next to her then, turned his body toward hers so he could see her every detail in the dim lighting. She turned to him too—just slightly, her feet still tucked under her dress.

"Do you really mean it?" he asked, because he'd asked her twice and she'd only answered once (and that made so much more sense if you were drunk).

She smirked at him with that trademark smirk and said, "What, you think I won't be able to handle you, Snoozles?"

He laughed and then, not quite sure what he was doing himself, reached out and brushed her bangs out of her eyes, which widened at his touch just ever-so-slightly. He leaned in and kissed her for that, his lips finding hers with a surprising familiarity for their first real kiss, her milky blind eyes closing and someone whistling from the crowd (Hakoda, he was sure).

It was an interesting night, Sokka would remember later, filled with surprising questions and surprising answers and many, _many_ surprising kisses. But most of all, it was a night filled with surprising love.

Sokka had been surprised when he said it—probably one of the most surprised, in fact—but he knew it had been the right thing to say.

_Toph, will you marry me?_

**FIN.**


	3. Secret

**Author's Notes: **This was so much fun to write, I can't even begin to explain. :D Babies are fun. I had the hardest time writing Mayyali, though. I have no idea how to speak like a baby, so I used my niece Adria as a guide (even though she's three). Using 'she' for 'her' was the most painful, though, I think.

Oh, and just as a warning: total Kataang ahead.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! And **review**!

Alisa_

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_Just Him and Her_

**Secret**

When asked how old she is, Mayyali would proudly hold out two chubby fingers and pronounce with a toothy grin, "Two!"

She was bright for her age, walking around unsteadily and talking—mostly gibberish, but with plenty of real words as well—to whoever would listen. With dark skin, a head of unruly brunette hair, and surprisingly gray eyes, she was a beautiful combination of her eager, young parents.

Today, however, Mayyali didn't have her loving father and mother to dote on her. The parents who were raising her so carefully were taking a well-deserved day off, leaving their precious daughter with who would hopefully be worthy baby-sitters—Uncle Sokki and Auntie Toph.

Katara had been hesitant to leave her one and only daughter with her forgetful, clumsy brother and his new wife, but when the sweet, responsible neighbor girl who usually watched Mayyali came down with a cold, Katara knew she had no choice. Aang reassured her that Sokka and Toph would do a fine job—but just in case, he had asked the kindly old lady across the street to keep an eye out for any sort of trouble. And Momo would be there.

They left, Katara not quite as comforted as she would have liked to be.

The morning passed without incident, however. Many games of Peek-a-Boo were played, much food was thrown during lunch, and Uncle Sokki was made the daddy of many dolls, to Auntie Toph's amusement. After lunch was naptime, and with the help of several of Uncle Sokki's stories about boomerangs, Mayyali fell asleep with hardly any fuss, a strange occurrence within itself.

The effect of boomerang stories must not last very long, however, because Mayyali woke up no more than half an hour later, rubbing her eyes and yawning. It was dark in her room, just like it always was for naptime, and Momo was curled around her head. Mayyali kicked back her blankets and slid off of her low mattress on her tummy before waddling over to the sliding door. It opened easily for her, a skill perfected over the past month. She rubbed her tousled hair as she stumbled down the hallway in search of Uncle Sokki and Auntie Toph.

They weren't in the kitchen, however, or in the living room, or the dining room. Tears welled up in Mayyali's eyes as she wobbled her way to the last room she could think of looking in.

As the door to her parents' room slid open, Mayyali's tears quickly dried. There was Uncle Sokki, and Auntie Toph! She immediately began scolding them in her own baby language for hiding on her, and huffed in annoyance when she realized they weren't listening. Mayyali wasn't quite sure what they were doing, except that it looked an awful lot like how Daddy would kiss Mommy sometimes.

Mayyali balled her hands into fists and called her family's names in a frustrated voice. "Unca Sokki! Auntie Top!"

They were as ignorant as ever, though, and Mayyali was getting upset; she hated being ignored. Screwing her eyes shut, she gave a screech and began to cry.

There was the sound of lips detaching from lips, body hitting ground, and a few muffled words that Mayyali easily covered with another scream.

"Aw, shhh, Mayyali, don't cry!" Uncle Sokki said quickly, gathering up his niece in his arms and attempting to sooth her. "Uncle Sokka's got you, don't cry."

Mayyali bawled louder.

Auntie Toph rolled off of the bed and pulled her tunic on in one smooth motion, then adjusted the shirt she was wearing underneath the tunic. Holding her arms out to Mayyali, she said, "C'mere, May-May, come by Aunt Toph."

The little girl eagerly accepted her aunt's offer and clambered into her arms. Auntie Toph sat down on the bed behind her with a small puff of air that blew Mayyali's bangs and settled the child in her lap. Uncle Sokki squished next to them and the toddler sniffled.

"What's a matter, May?" asked Auntie Toph, brushing dark hair from Mayyali's forehead. "Did you get scared?"

Mayyali opened her mouth and gibberish poured out, most of which ended with "Unca Sokki."

"Ooh, was Uncle Sokki ignoring you?" asked Auntie Toph ("I was not!"), to which Mayyali nodded. Her lower lip trembled and a few tears leaked down her face.

"Hush, May, don't cry," Auntie Toph said, then quickly added, "Hey, how 'bout I tell you a secret?"

Mayyali sniffled and nodded.

"Good." Auntie Toph leaned in and whispered something in the little girl's ear. When she pulled back, the woman smiled and said, "Isn't that a funny secret?"

Mayyali clapped and said, "Yeah, yeah!"

"What is it?" asked Uncle Sokki curiously.

"Should we tell him, May-May?" asked Auntie Toph. "Should we tell Uncle Sokka the secret?"

"Um… yes!" decided the girl.

"You tell Uncle Sokka, then, May-May," urged Auntie Toph.

Mayyali squinted her eyes in concentration. "Auntie Top has baby in she tummy!"

Uncle Sokki blinked and said very slowly, "What?"

"Auntie Top has a baby in tummy!" Mayyali repeated loudly, putting a tiny fist to Auntie Toph's stomach.

Uncle Sokki turned to Auntie Toph with wide eyes. "Are you—is she—did you…" He blinked at her incomprehensibly for a moment, then said, "Really?"

Auntie Toph grinned, almost shyly, and nodded. "Yeah."

"So… we're gonna have a—a…" Uncle Sokki made an odd gulping sound before whispering, "a baby?"

"In she tummy!" Mayyali shrieked.

Auntie Toph nodded and hugged her niece closer. "You and me, Sokka—we're having a baby."

Suddenly Uncle Sokki leaned over and gave Auntie Toph one of those funny kisses again. Mayyali squirmed out of her aunt's arms and ran into the living room as fast as her chubby legs could take her.

"In she tummy!" she shrieked again.

"Mayyali!" Katara closed the sliding door behind her and picked up her daughter, spinning her around. "What's in her tummy, honey?"

"Baby! Mommy, Auntie Top has baby in she tummy!" Mayyali cried, pointing to her own tummy.

Katara laughed and kissed her daughter's forehead fondly. "Where did you ever hear something like that, Mayyali?" she asked with a laugh.

"From me," said Auntie Toph, walking into the room. Katara stared, and Toph shot her a breezy smile.

"Wait. You're pregnant?" said a shocked Aang, dropping the market bags he had been carrying. Fruit rolled everywhere as he asked, "You're pregnant, right?"

Suddenly Katara squealed and shoved her daughter into her husband's empty arms. "Oh great spirits, you're pregnant! You're having a baby!" She pulled Toph into her arms and did a sort of dance.

"But" —she pulled back to ask— "where's Sokka?"

The younger woman smirked. "Passed out on your bed, I think."

Aang laughed and set his daughter down. Mayyali immediately ran for her parents' room, all the while shrieking, "Baby in Auntie Top's tummy! Baby in she tummy!"

Toph smiled. Sometimes it was good to be part of a family that couldn't keep a secret even if they tried.

**FIN.**


	4. Hair

**Author's Notes: **I'm not sure what's up with this one. And Aang and Katara have mysteriously disappeared. And Sokka is childish... more so than usual. And... I dunno. You choose.

(But **review** no matter what you think.)

Alisa_

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_Just Him and Her_

**Hair**

_Snicker-snicker._

Toph Bei Fong blinked blind eyes in the direction of the noise and frowned. Ignoring it, she went back to styling her hair.

_Snort._

She closed her eyes in a silent prayer to the spirits to give her strength and did her best not to rise to the bait.

_Chuckle-laugh._

She turned to the disturbance with narrowed eyes and hands clenched in fists. "Just _what_ is so funny, Sokka?"

Said warrior coughed into his hand exaggeratedly and said, "Oh, nothing, nothing at all…"

"No, Sokka," said Toph, voice lined slyly with false sweetness, "_please_ enlighten me as to _what _is so funny that you can't stop giggling like a little girl."

A change in demeanor—all the weight on one leg, hand on waist, just like his sister would stand. "Well, if you must know…," he drawled. "I was laughing at your hair."

Toph could feel her cheeks heating up and she frowned. "You _know_ that if we ever want to infiltrate the Fire Nation, we're going to have to disguise ourselves. Katara's changing her hair and I figured I might as well too."

"Then why didn't you just have Katara do it for you?" he asked snarkily, and she could see the Sokka in her mind's eye leaning forward as if to be condescending and intimidating.

"I can do my own hair, Ponytail," she snapped, stomping her foot and spinning on the spot.

_Snort._

"_What_ is so awful about my hair that it's funny?" Toph demanded, not turning to him for fear of taking his head off with a rock.

"It's just" —another giggle— "your buns are uneven."

With a snarl, Toph pulled the ribbons holding her hair in place and the two lopsided buns fell down her back in a rather lumpy wave. "There! Are you happy now?" she growled, shaking the ribbons in her hands mercilessly.

He proceeded to chuckle, then say, "Your hair is even funnier when it's down."

Toph gave a defeated sigh. "Then what am I supposed to do to get you to shut up?"

There was a short pause, and then: "Why don't you wear your hair in braids? I really liked it when you wore your hair in braids."

Toph would have hated to see how eager her face looked as she turned and asked, "Really?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, leaning forward now with signs of excitement. "I really liked it in braids—it made you look older."

Toph wasn't sure how looking older was a good thing, but she would take what she got.

He was still talking. "You looked really pretty without your bangs in the way. I could finally see your eyes."

"So? It's not like that would do much good," Toph pointed out, though a mental note to brush her bangs out of the way more often was made.

"But I like looking at your eyes. We don't have green eyes at the South Pole," he said.

Toph shrugged, unsure of how to respond to the praise.

"You just looked really pretty with braids," he said again, now shuffling his feet. "I think you should wear braids."

"No need to be so redundant, Ponytail," Toph said with a smirk. "I heard you the first time. Unanimous vote of Sokka—I'm wearing braids, I guess."

"Good." She could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

"But what about you, Sokka? How are we going to do your hair?" Toph asked, grinning. "Do you want braids too?"

Sokka laughed and Toph couldn't help but feel a spark of hope inside her—she _had_ always liked braids….

**FIN.**


	5. Kiss

**Author's Notes: **I seem to be on a baby boom (har, pun) lately, but what can I say? I like the idea. XD

**Information you should know:** Oma is around 10-ish, and that would make Toph 31 and Sokka 34. And yes, I figured this all out. I even know the name of baby #2 (will most likely end up writing a fic about him, too). And for those who were able to put two and two together, this oneshot and _Secret_ coincide (meaning: Oma is the "surprise" that Mayyali was so eager to share).

Don't forget to **review**!

Alisa

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_Just Him and Her_

**Kiss **

"Mom?"

Oma stepped into the kitchen, blue eyes wide, almost anxious, as she sought out the short and very pregnant form of her mother. She spotted her mother's protruding belly sticking out from behind the counter and Oma took a step in the woman's direction.

"Mom?" she said again. "Can I ask you a question?"

There was a flash of gesturing chopsticks as a voice floated, "Sure, kiddo. Have a seat."

Oma stepped around the counter to find her mother leaning against the cupboard door, a bowl of noodles balancing precariously on her round stomach and a pair of chopsticks in her hand, her legs splayed out in front of her. She motioned with her unoccupied hand to the space next to her and Oma scrambled to sit.

"So," her mother said, dipping her chopsticks in to the bowl and fishing out some noodles, "what's on your mind, Oma?"

Oma watched as her mother slurped the noodles up and then wiped her lips on the back of her hand. The young girl shifted for a moment, tucking her legs underneath her body, then asked frankly, "What was your first kiss like?"

Her mother ate another bite of noodles painfully slowly, then smirked at Oma. "Why?" she asked, eyebrows raised at her daughter. "Thinking of trying it out for yourself?"

"No!" Oma cried, far too soon and far too loudly.

Her mother's smirk widened. "I can tell your lying," she sang, nodding to the girl and patting the Earth underneath them.

Oma gave a huff of indignance and folded her arms across her chest; her mother responded by taking another bite of her noodles.

"Fine," Oma finally admitted in a tiny voice, and her mother smiled through her noodles. "There's this boy, Li…"

"And you like him," her mother prodded.

Oma shrugged indifferently. Her mother just drained the rest of her noodles into her mouth, dropped the chopsticks in the empty bowl, which was relocated to the floor, and rubbed her belly. Then she closed her eyes and sighed.

"I was fifteen," she said, her hands still rubbing rhythmically over her belly, and Oma jumped to attention as her mother began her tale. "We had just gotten to Omashu and we were planning on staying with King Bumi for a few weeks. I had been really excited to see him—from what Uncle Aang had said, he was an amazing Earthbender. So we met him and I showed off a bit and after dinner we all went to bed. Except for daddy, though—he went back outside."

"And you went with him, didn't you?" asked Oma, her eyes bright with adoration as she watched her mother smile.

"Not with him, really," her mother clarified with a sheepish grin. "I sorta followed him. He sat outside on the terrace and I just happened to find the same terrace to sit on."

Oma giggled appreciatively and asked breathlessly, "Then what happened?"

Her mother's eyes slipped shut as she thought. "Well, I asked him what he was doing outside when he could be inside, watching Aang and Katara play a riveting game of Pai Sho. And he told me he was watching the moon. So we just sat together for a while."

"But when did you _kiss_?" intoned Oma impatiently.

"I'm getting there," her mother scolded with a wave of her hand. "I'm just trying to set up the _mood_."

"Then what was the _mood_ like?" Oma quickly remedied.

"It was warm," her mother said, "and dry. It was getting late, and the city was going to sleep—I remember feeling it fall asleep under my feet. And I just sort of got this _feeling_ that if I was ever gonna do something really stupid, well, it would be the perfect time. So I just—leaned over and kissed daddy."

There was an awe-filled gasp from Oma. "What was it like?" she whispered, breathless, wide blue eyes locked on her mother's face in amazement.

A bashful grin slipped over her mother's face and she gave a little chuckle. "It was—well, I missed."

"You _missed_?" gaped her daughter.

She shrugged with a smile. "I wasn't intending to hit his ear, that's for sure."

Oma gave a bout of delighted laughter. "What did daddy do?"

"Asked me what I was doing," she admitted. "I was mortified, but I could feel his heartbeat going crazy and I figured that was a good thing, so I tried it again."

"Did you miss that time?" inquired Oma, obvious humor lining her voice.

"Nope. I was dead on," she said proudly. "He had no idea what hit him."

Oma giggled brightly. "What did daddy do then?"

"He kissed me back, of course!" her mother exclaimed. Then she added in a whisper, "He even held my hand."

Oma sighed, chin resting in her palms. "That's so romantic," she murmured. "Did you know you were in love?"

She patted her daughter's hand. "Kiddo, I _always_ knew I was in love with your daddy."

Oma's lips twisted thoughtfully to the side. "D'you think Li will ever notice me?" she asked her mother, who chuckled.

"Oma, it took daddy three years to really like me, and even then _I_ had to be the one to start it. Give Li some time and see what happens. Besides," she added, mock stern, "you're too young to be kissing boys!"

Oma gave an exaggerated groan. "Mom!"

Her mother laughed and ruffled Oma's hair. "Get outta here, kid. Go find some mud to roll around in or somethin'. Maybe Li'll like that."

Oma giggled and planted a kiss on her mother's cheek. "Thanks, Mommy," she said, and bolted out of the room. "Oh, hi, Daddy!"

"Hey, Oma—where ya goin'?"

"To roll around in the mud—Mommy told me to!"

Sokka chuckled as he walked into the kitchen. "Where're you hiding?" he asked, and an arm waved to him from behind the counter. He found his very pregnant wife lying on the ground, frowned, then hoisted her up by the armpits.

"Thanks, Snoozles," Toph said, and with much difficulty and much rearranging, managed to wrap an arm around her husband's chest.

Sokka pulled her closer and she rested her head against his shoulder. "What were you and Oma talking about?" he asked, rubbing his hand across her stomach almost unconsciously.

Toph pushed her face deeper into his shoulder; her voice came out muffled when she said, "Our first kiss."

There was silence for a moment, then Sokka snorted.

Toph grinned. "Shut up. It's not my fault your ears are so big."

**FIN.**


	6. Vague

**Author's Notes: **What to even say about this... I wrote this purely to satisify my own Tokka needs, not for length or content or depth, but just to write, and I think that is quite plainly obvious. -dies of embarrassment- Does it help that I think I was unconscious while writing this? Blegh.

I'll let you make your own decisions on this (good luck). **Review** nonetheless, even if it is just to mock me. XP

Alisa_

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_Just Him and Her_

**Vague**

"So, Toph, I was thinking that—maybe, sometime… you know, we could—if you're not busy, that is… running from Angry Jerk or something—saving people, anything like that… and if we're by a stream… or a lake, or a river, 'cause you like fish, don't you? Yeah, if we're by a steam, I can catch some fish—you _do_ like fish, right? 'Cause I don't wanna make something you don't like, that would be stupid… but then again, my mom did say it's the thought that counts, especially when Dad would bring her jerky for her birthday—but I wouldn't be able to get jerky anyway, so fish it is—if you like them, that is. Or I could just pick some berries instead, if you'd like that better, and maybe some flowers too—girls like flowers… you like flowers, don't you? 'Cause you're a girl and I just figured that you… would… and, uh… what d'ya say?"

Toph blinked blind eyes in Sokka's direction for a moment, rubbed the back of her leg with the other foot, and then said, "What?"

There was an awkward silence—Sokka rubbing the back of his neck, Aang smiling that cheesy smile of his, Katara gaping at her brother and nearly falling into the campfire, Toph looking genuinely confused—Katara stomped out the hem of her skirt, then spoke.

"I think… Toph, I think Sokka just _asked you out_."

"Oh." Toph blinked. "_Ooh_." She turned an uncustomary shade of pink and shuffled her feet. "Okay."

"Well?" asked Aang eagerly, Airbending himself a scooter to circle Toph, then Sokka. "Are you going to answer?"

Toph stood silent for a second, looking somewhere in between mortified and petrified, then opened her mouth and proclaimed loudly, "I like fish." And with that, she turned on her heel and strode stiffly into the woods, nearly tripping on a branch on her way.

Katara and Aang shared a curious glance.

"Was that a yes or a no?" the Airbender asked in an intrigued whisper.

"I _think_ that was a yes, Aang," said Katara slowly, and neither of them seemed to notice the ecstatic smile blooming on Sokka's face.

They did notice, however, when he tripped over his own bag and landed face-first into the dirt.

**FIN. **

**(I guess.)**


	7. Yesterdays

**Author's Notes: **This is based on the fabulous Switchfoot song of the same title. 'Tis very sad, and I suggest you listen to it, if possible (as I am at the moment). May I also warn you that this involves character death and much sadness/angst, so if you're not in the mood, I suggest leaving it for a later date. I, however, was in the mood for some well-earned tears (bumped my head on the table and didn't even cry, whoah), so I pulled this out of a very dusty folder and attempted to polish it up. And, here we are!

**Review**, if you would!

Alisa_

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_Just Him and Her_

**Yesterdays**

Sokka was surprised at the number of people that came. Aang and Katara, of course, and Iroh and Zuko too, and Hakoda, after Katara asked him. Suki, the Council of Generals, Bumi, even. The Bei Fongs, understandably, and so many other people. Scores of people, from the Earth Rumble tournaments, from Ba Sing Se, from the remotest corners of the Earth Kingdom, from the Fire Nation, even. People, so many people, all for one person.

_Toph._

Sokka couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked today, though especially pale. Especially pale—the thought the laughable. Her face was unadorned, but Sokka liked it better that way—she looked more like Toph. Her hair was in its usual bun, looking especially black. _Because it's clean_, he thought, and that was almost laughable too. She was wearing her Bending clothes, though Katara had repaired any tears or holes and cleaned them meticulously, in tears the entire time. They looked especially green. Her feet, though, he noted, were still coated with Earth, and if he had had the will, Sokka would have smiled.

But Sokka didn't smile, because no matter how pretty Toph looked, that still didn't stop her from being dead.

_Dead._

Sokka hated the word, hated what it meant, hated what it would mean tomorrow and the day after that and the days after that for the rest of his life. He hated what it made him feel and he hated what it made him remember.

He could still see the small look of surprise she had worn when the arrow entered her chest, could still hear the small exhale of air as she fell to the Earth. He could remember the feeling of lead in his legs as he ran to her, could remember cradling her against him as she struggled to take in air. He could remember her breathing his name against his neck, could remember her eyes drifting closed as she exhaled for the last time. He could remember the fighting going on around him as he hugged her and cried. Sokka knew he could never forget.

He felt tears prick at his eyes as he looked at her lifeless form, wanting nothing more than to look away but not being able to. She looked so small, so tiny on the pedestal of rock Aang had created for her—so unlike the Toph he knew, the one with the larger-than-life personality and a larger-than-life ability. This girl, looking so peaceful and calm, she wasn't the Toph that Sokka knew.

A hand touched Sokka's elbow and he jumped. It was Katara. People were beginning to file past the pedestal to pay their last respects to the once-mighty Earthbender. Sokka followed his sister and the Avatar with a sense of growing horror in his heart and numbness in his limbs as the line grew shorter and shorter in front of him.

Sokka could tell that there were tears running down his cheeks, but he didn't need to feel them to know—he could tell by the salty taste in his mouth and the aching in his stomach. It felt as if he was crying every last feeling of joy or hope out of his body, despair and regret drowning him, drowning the very life out of him.

Sokka ran a hand over his face and wiped his tears on the edge of his tunic—they left a damp spot that slowly seeped and spread. It reminded him vaguely of the exhaustion he felt coursing through his body, a weariness that only spread and grew the longer he laid on his cot. Curling the damp cloth in his fingers, Sokka followed Katara and Aang up the small steps to where Toph lay.

He felt his breath hitch as he looked at her. She looked like a little girl, not the fourteen-year-old she was—had been. The fourteen-year-old she had been. He heard a stifled cry next to him and noticed his friends for the first time.

Katara's face was stained pink and two thin trails of tears wound down her cheeks. Her lips were moving, but nothing was coming out. Sokka knew she was apologizing. Next to her Aang was clenching his fists, tears flowing down his cheeks unchecked—he was trying to control the Avatar State, to remain calm, Sokka recognized dimly. They stood very close together, and Katara's fingers were digging into Aang's upper arm in a viselike grip.

Sokka looked away as they said their last goodbyes—he wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet. Aang and Katara walked away, slowly but surely, and then it was just Sokka and Toph. But, he mused, wasn't it always that way? Sokka and Toph—the Dynamic Duo. He smiled—faintly—and repeated the title out loud. It sounded right.

People were shuffling in the line behind him, and he knew he didn't have much time. He leaned over her, his face above hers, a teardrop sliding off of his nose and landing on her cheek, and brought his lips down on her forehead.

Sokka pulled away quickly, startled. She was so _cold_.

He had kissed her like that once before—a friendly little peck on the forehead, his nose in her hair and her skin comforting under his lips—but she had been warm then, warm and sweet-smelling and protesting and very much _alive_. Now—now she was just _cold_.

Biting his cheek, Sokka lowered his lips to her forehead again and inhaled her scent. He could smell the heavy perfumes her body had been washed in, but under that, and more familiar, was the smell of Earth, strong and clean and so very Toph.

He pulled back and brushed away the tears that had fallen on her cheeks. It made her look as if she had been crying, and Sokka hated to see her cry.

Taking her hand in his, Sokka knelt next to her, ignoring the silent parade of people marching on the other side of her. Instead, he focused on a soft fold in her clothing and breathed. His voice came out high and rough when he spoke.

"Toph, I… I'm here to say goodbye. To say goodbye and to say that… I love you. I never told you that, did I? I guess I thought we would have more time together, to actually talk about that sort of thing, but… but just know that I love you. That I'll always love you. And… I miss you already, and I'll always miss you, and I wish you hadn't left, but… it's not your fault. You didn't want to leave either."

There was the quietest choked sob from above him, and Sokka jerked his head up to find Lady Bei Fong looking down upon him, two thin hands (_Toph's hands_) pressed against her mouth. Wide, tearful eyes peeked from above her fingers and Sokka knew she had heard every word he had spoken to her dead daughter. But he didn't care; Toph wasn't here and it didn't matter anymore, what Lady Bei Fong thought or Lord Bei Fong thought or anyone thought. Right now, it was all about what Toph thought, and she wasn't in a very talkative mood.

Sokka slipped his hand from hers, heat lingering on her skin from his own body, and let his fingers trail listlessly over her white lips. Lady Bei Fong was weeping openly now, he could hear, and she fell to her knees, her hands tight around Toph's arm as if letting go would make Toph's death real.

Knowing this was the last time he would ever be near Toph, ever see her, ever touch her, ever smell her, he leaned in, his lips brushing against her dark hair as he whispered thinly in her ear, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. Just… I love you. Wait for me."

His pressed cold lips against colder skin for the last time, and stood up abruptly. Lady Bei Fong was now being ushered to her feet by her husband, who was whispering calmly in her ear as he led her away, and Sokka followed them from the platform. Katara slipped her arm in his when he stood next to her, and Aang wiped at the tears still streaming from his eyes with the heels of his hands.

The line passing Toph dwindled, slowly, and then died. Now everyone was standing in the sharp winter air, shuffling, whispering, crying, waiting for the burial to finish. Aang moved forward now, his face hard and set as he approached his Earthbending master and friend, and it wasn't until he was slipping into his horse stance did Sokka realize what the Avatar was doing.

"Wait!"

His own voice startled him, just like the fact that his legs were carrying him forward. He didn't regain control of his body until he was leaning over Toph, one hand shoved deep into his pocket, eyes fogged and misty, throat tight and painful. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket, and he didn't need to see to tell that the entire assembly was watching him with baited breath. But he didn't care.

His slipped the necklace around her neck with a small, choked laugh that he himself did not understand. It looked nice, he decided, pale jade against pale skin. It would have matched perfectly with her eyes.

"I made this for you," he informed her, touching the round stone gently. A tear spilled from each eye as he blinked. "I was going to give it to you later, once the war was over and once I finished the carving, but… I want you to have it now. You do want it, don't you?"

He waited, breathless, before a painful dart in his heart reminded him that she wasn't going to be replying to anything he would say to her for a long time. It was strange that he thought she would, and he wanted, faintly, to laugh at that, too.

But instead, he returned to his place next to Katara. Aang turned and looked at him for one long, painful moment with a look of raw regret, sorrow, remorse (_everything that made him remember he wasn't the only one suffering_), then turned back to the pedestal he had raised Toph on. It took two swift movements to encase her in a tomb of stone, and another to sink the tomb deep within the Earth, right were she would have wanted to be, never mind that he would have preferred her in his arms where she really belonged.

Dust settled, and the ground was smooth and bare. It was strange, the idea that Toph was now residing under his feet, and Sokka didn't like it in the least bit. Then the crunch of stone filled the air, and where the tomb had rested was a slab of stone, strong and secure and just a little rough around the edges, like Toph (_had been_). Katara's fingernails dug into Sokka's skin through his shirt as Aang fell to his knees in front of the stone and began etching into it with a finger. Sokka didn't want to know what he was writing.

And then, like that, it was over. People were moving about, finding family members, leaving the grave. Back to their lives, their friends, their everyday problems. No war to fight, no friends to comfort, no regrets to cry over every day for the rest of your life. Sokka wished it was that easy (_they were the lucky ones_), but it wasn't.

Aang walked over to them, steps heavy, shoulders stooped, and Katara tucked the hand that had been cutting through Sokka's arm into Aang's hand, tears pooling again. Sokka hated seeing her cry—it always made him want to cry, too.

One foot in front of the other, toes dragging in the dirt, and Sokka found himself standing over the stone that marked the once-great Earthbender. The inscription, bold and simple and probably perfect for Toph, blurred around the edges until Sokka couldn't discern one symbol from another. Hands shoved deep within his pockets, he blinked his eyes hard and sighed, and for the first time in three days, his breath came out a steady, strong stream of air. Tears which were undoubtedly soon to return had, for the moment, been quelled, and Sokka stood in this personal victory. For the moment he was numb, and he was slowly finding he preferred it this way.

And yet, like a bruise he couldn't help but touch, the sore feeling in his heart remained, flexing with every beat of his heart. Every day, he knew, every day for the rest of his life, he would regret not telling her. Even holding her dying in his arms, he hadn't done it, and now it was too late. He never told her he loved her, never got the chance to hold her in his arms, never had the opportunity to press hot lips together, never did anything brave like she did, and now he would live the rest of his life wondering what would have happened if he had.

Holding her in his arms, crimson blood seeping through her clothing, arrow shaft creating the strangest sight plunged into her chest… what would have happened if he had said something the day before? What if he had kissed her after they had eaten the handful of berries he had picked? What if she had loved him like he loved her? What would have happened if she had lived?

Sokka didn't know. All he knew was that she was gone. All he knew was that he would remember her like he remembered yesterday.

After all, all he had left of the girl he loved was yesterdays.


	8. Fifty

**Author's Notes:** Fifty one-sentence drabbles oh-so-cleverly entitled _Fifty_. Sometimes I just get so many random ideas that would never develop into full oneshots that simple one-sentence drabbles appear, and thus this list was born. I didn't really use a prompt list, just my dictionary and whatever popped into my mind at the time. Mmm... they're in alphabetical order (for absolutely no reason whatsoever), and the numbers stand for the order I wrote them in. My favorite has to be Slip-Up (#20). Endlessly amusing to me. XD

Be warned: There is much punctuation murder here.

And lastly, **review**, for I have to baby-sit tomorrow!

Alisa

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**_Fifty_**

**13. Antonym**

He couldn't decide if she was a woman stuck in a child's body or a child stuck in a woman's.

**25. Articulate**

He told her off once for always picking on him and she, in a fit of rage, had stormed off, but not before screaming, "I only do it because I love you!"

**49. Attachment**

Man cannot live on bread alone—he always thought that was a funny saying, as living a life by himself, just him and his boomerang and his machete, sounded like a pretty good life, full of hunting and fishing and eating, those sorts of good, manly things; but really, it wasn't until after the War, until he _was_ alone, just him and his boomerang and his machete, that no matter how appealing the food looked or smelled, it never tasted as good as it would have if she had been at his side.

**19. Axiom**

The two of them are like why the sky is blue—one of life's unexplainable truths.

**2. Bath**

She's walked in on him bathing before, but it doesn't matter—she's blind; when he walks in on her, however, it's another story altogether.

**14. Boundary**

He wouldn't have known she had been watching over him as he slept if he hadn't seen the outline of a tiny hand in the dirt next to his sleeping bag.

**17. Brushes**

She had always wanted to know what he looked like, and her hands painted the perfect picture.

**23. Cliché**

_If this isn't love, than I don't know what is_—that's what Sokka couldn't help but think, no matter how unoriginal, as he continued to argue with Toph.

**26. Conquering**

After Yue and Suki, he was afraid to love; but with her, he just couldn't help himself—with her, he didn't have to be afraid.

**42. Different**

When he thinks of fleeting love, of star-crossed lovers, he thinks of Yue; when he thinks of instant attraction, of two people thrown together, he thinks of Suki; but when he thinks of growing love, of the idea of forever, he can't help but think of Toph, the one who's actually holding his hand.

**10. Discombobulate**

He liked using funny words and she liked throwing rocks; it all worked out in the end.

**6. Dreamer**

Her hand is warm in his, but her lips against his are warmer; skin is hot, soft, hair tickling his face as she smiles at him, laughs for no reason; she pushes him, hard, against a wall, body flush against his, hot breath dancing across his face as she leans into him—he has the strangest dreams.

**7. Electricity**

"Isn't the spark we have just shocking?" he'd asked, grinning, before she promptly punched his shoulder.

**46. Empathy**

"I don't want you to hate me"—that's what she said, pushing his heart back into his hands, curling dusty fingers around his own; "maybe, when I'm older, but not now—but please, just don't hate me," and he knew he couldn't.

**50. End**

It never occurred to him that she could die—sure, they were old, and sure, she had been sick for a while now, but really, it was _Toph_... how could she just up and die like that when he was right here, waiting for her like he always was?; so maybe he was a little crazy to be angry at her for dying, but really, he would never be able to take care of the family by himself, not without her, not by himself, not when she was gone, and _oh_, _just why did she leave him_?

**36. Enlightenment**

She disappeared once, before any of them had gotten up, and hadn't returned until well past lunch; it was during that time of frantic searching and desperate pleading with the spirits that he realized just how much he would miss her if she was gone, and _why _he would miss her so much—it wasn't the why that startled him, it was the how much.

**21. Goggle **

"There's only one person you can gawk at," she said, attempting to wrap her arms around his neck (_why_ was he so tall?), "and that's me"—he agreed, albeit grudgingly.

**29. Genesis**

Gentle hands like a warm breeze on his face, soft lips as tempting as the sweetest fruit, pale skin as brilliant as moonlight on still waters, dark hair as smooth as the blackest night, wide eyes like the fathomless stars—it was like the beginning all over again.

**38. Homonym**

She'd only heard him swear once, and it was the most beautiful thing they'd ever done.

**44. Hyperactive**

He'd never seen her like this before (_off the wall—ooh, _in_ the wall_ was the only thing he could think of), jumping around and throwing rocks and giggling when she nearly knocked Katara out (but then again, so was he), acting freer than he'd ever seen her, acting open and frankly, acting pretty crazy (it would take _forever_ to fix that hole in the wall!), and when she traipsed over to him and threw her arms around his neck and spun him around until he was seeing spots (and kissed him, did he mention that?), he decided she could be hyper whenever she wanted, even if it meant he _would_ be spending the next two weeks fixing that hole in the wall.

**41. Idiom **

Toph and Sokka argued, and they argued a lot; Katara would wince and walk into the next room, Aang and Momo following her—but what Katara and Aang didn't understand (_what they would never understand_), is that it is always easier to talk if you're yelling.

**40. Idiosyncrasy **

Over the years, there were a lot of things he learned about Toph—how she took her tea, when it was best to avoid her during the month, why she liked her bangs so much, what her favorite thing about Earthbending was (what her favorite thing about _him_ was); he learned every quirk of her, every strange trait and interesting little habit, until he was sure he knew it all—and then she would go and surprise him with something completely out of the blue (_but then again, maybe that was a eccentricity within itself_).

**37. Inquisitive**

"I have a natural curiosity"—that's what he said after so idiotically eating something from the wall of a cave, and she couldn't help the thought passing through her mind: _You can be naturally curious with me_.

**24. Irony**

He was being as stubborn as an icefall during spring and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

**47. Kaleidoscope**

Contentment, anger, joy, jealousy, pride, apprehension, comfort, confusion, empathy, happiness, (_dare he think it?_) love—all of it, swirling inside of him like a kaleidoscope of emotions, and all the while, and one turning the dial was _her_.

**48. Labyrinthine **

What they had, it was… confusing, to say the least; he wasn't quite sure _what_ they were—was it right to be _(in love)_ with your best friend, when she still punches you when you say something stupid or holds onto your arm when she's scared _(not that she'd admit it)_ or wakes you up in the middle of the night when she Bends in her sleep?; he wasn't quite sure what he was to her and he wasn't quite sure if he was happy not knowing.

**12. Lorelei**

He was a boatman without earplugs and she had the most tempting voice—the crash was inevitable.

**4. Magnet**

He is amazed at how she can magnetize rocks to her body; she is amazed how he can be so magnetic.

**8. Marked**

She punched him so hard once that it formed a nasty bruise the next day—Katara called it a mark of tough love and nearly got herself one, too.

**11. Misinformed **

Toph had never been quite as angry as the time Sokka suggested she had a crush on Aang—was he really _that_ blind?

**5. Nerve**

She has some nerve, just walking up to him and kissing him like that—he decides he likes it.

**15. Pandora **

He wasn't quite sure what would come out of her box when it was opened, but he was willing to find out.

**16. Presage**

Toph had heard what had happened to Yue and then to Suki—she was always just a little more cautious around Sokka after that.

**27. Pristine**

There was something about the tiny baby in his arms, something so fragile and delicate and innocent, something so pure and untainted that it was indescribable, the feeling inside of him that made his heart swell up and his eyes cloud over; "it's love," his sister tells him as he looks down at the little girl in his arms—his daughter.

**9. Questionable**

He told her once that she could be sweet when she wanted to be, and she asked him if that meant he could be anything less than obnoxious sometimes too.

**33. Quintessence**

He loved watching her sleep—her chest would rise and fall smoothly, her pale lips would be parted gently, an arm would be slipped around his neck as her face pressed into his shoulder; but even more so, he loved to watch her Bend, to watch her perform the sharp, strong movements with an unadulterated grace and her lips curl into that particular grin—he loved to watch her in her element.

**32. Quixotic**

One day she woke up to flowers next to her head; one day he made her cake for lunch; one day he sang her a song he wrote himself, no matter how embarrassed it made her feel—holding his hand as he placed a light kiss on her cheek, Toph decided she liked it when Sokka was unpredictable.

**18. Reiki**

It always amazed Sokka how much better he felt after Toph touched his hand or held his arm.

**39. Remedy**

She punched him so hard once that he bruised, and then all the next day he whined and complained until she mocked, "Does baby want me to kiss it better?"; and when she did, he couldn't help but grin and say, "While you're at it, I have a cut on my lip—could you take care of that, too?"

**45. Revolution**

A girl and a boy cannot be "just friends"—for the longest time, he though that he and Toph defied that saying; that was before she kissed him, though, and before he kissed her back.

**30. Rouge**

They all got new clothing when they infiltrated the Fire Nation, dresses, pants, sashes, arm bands, shoes, in reds and oranges and pinks—he had to admit she looked good in red.

**22. Selective**

_Sokka and Toph_, _Toph and Sokka_, written everywhere in the dirt; when Katara asked her about it, Toph just shrugged and said, "That's all he's taught me so far."

**1. Signs**

Her eyes are wide and pale and milky and bright, just like the moon—he wonders if Yue is trying to tell him something.

**28. Sisyphus**

With her, it was one step forward and two steps back—say something nice at the wrong time, try to make a move and end up eating a mouthful of dirt, try to be smooth and offend everyone; he was pushing a too big rock up a too steep hill and he wasn't sure how much push he had left in him.

**43. Slender**

He'd never noticed just how petite she was under that loose clothing _(just how well her head would fit under his chin, how well his hands would hug her waist, how well her chest would press into his ribs) _until she was crushed against him, the Earth under them and a rather disgruntled Airbender on top—he only hoped she couldn't feel how his heart was beating.

**20. Slip-Up**

She called him "Snuggles" once instead of "Snoozles"; Katara was always a little suspicious after that.

**3. Stained**

She is surprised—and yet, not quite so—that he is the only one who can stain her cheeks quite as pink.

**34. Triturated**

Seeing her with him—he didn't like to admit, but it hurt more than he ever imagined it could; it was like his heart was one of the rocks she so easily turned to dust without batting an eyelash, and there was nothing he could do about it but hope to heal.

**31. Twitterpated**

He tried to kiss her once—leaned over the bowl of berries they were sharing and ended up catching the corner of her mouth—and she choked and pushed him away with a "what are you doing!"; he just pulled the dish from her slack fingers and tried again—who was the one who said that the third time was always the charm?


	9. Attraction

**Author's Notes: **Just a little something to appease a Tokka craving, based on the whole "opposites attract" thing that seems to be so favorable to ships like Zutara and Taang. What about complementary elements? Anyone ever heard of "fight fire with fire"? Just me rambling, I guess.

**Review, please!**

Alisa

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Just Him and Her

**Attraction**

_Opposites attract._

_Fire and water. Air and earth._

This mentality has always been lost on Sokka. Why should he, from the Water tribes, be limited to someone from the Fire Nation? And Aang, why should he be limited only to Earth Kingdom girls?

What if _he_ likes Earth Kingdom girls? What if he likes their pretty faces and curvy little bodies? And what would happen if he liked a girl like Yue, from his own tribes? Would the world's equilibrium be thrown off? Would the balance of yin and yang be tipped and life itself altered? Why would it matter anyway, if you're in love?

Sokka doesn't understand the concept of water and fire, and of air and earth. What about water and air? What about water and earth?

Now _that_ is a concept that Sokka knows, and one that he knows well. _Water_ _and_ _earth_. He's seen his fair share of Earth Kingdom girls over the years, and even dated a few. They were pretty and strong and not so hard to fall in love with—he has the personal experience to back that up.

So what did it matter that they weren't Fire Nation? He's seen quite a few Fire Nation girls, and ignoring the fact that they were trying flambé him, they seemed quite alright. Not as funny or dependable as Earth Kingdom girls, but alright enough.

So he isn't one of those "opposites attract" guys—but what's wrong with that? What's wrong with earth and water? What's wrong with complementary elements?

Sokka likes earth—and he definitely likes Earth Kingdom girls. They are strong and independent and just a little sweet and with such a pretty face and when did those hips get there? Loud and brash and sarcastic and proud and just the right height to throw his arm around her shoulders, if she would let him. Pale pouting lips and dark bangs hiding glassy eyes—water and earth, they just fit.

They aren't opposites at all—earth and water, they're more alike than they think, and Sokka knows this. They complement each other in ways that water and fire could never manage. Earth is strong and steady and reliable and stable; water is always changing and fluxing and moving and adapting. They work together and everything is right again. Fire and water create a cloud of steam, and then they're both gone. But water and earth together—they're the world.

She's his rock, constant as the earth beneath their feet, and he hopes he can adapt to her like water adapts to earth.

But most of all, Sokka is just glad Toph is from the Earth Kingdom, or they would both be lost in a rush of steam.


	10. Silence

**Author's Notes:** Yay for angry Toph and Sokka! This is the immediate aftermath of the season finale, so don't expect any shippiness. But that's okay, I don't mind (and hopefully you don't either). I want to get another chapter (can these even be called chapters?) up next week, so keep your eyes peeled. Be prepared for--dun dun dun--shippiness!

**REVIEW**, please! I had concert choir try-outs this week!

Alisa_

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_Just Him and Her_

**Silence**

"Toph."

Her name was met with silence. Well, no—not silence. There was the sound of softly moving water, and the gentle snoring of the ex-Earth King and his bear Bosco. Katara was braiding her hair, fingers moving deftly through the strands, Momo chittering lightly from her lap, and Toph was rolling two pebbles against each other in her hand. Appa was breathing deeply in sleep, the quiet rustling of his fur enough to cover the shallow breath of Aang, who was tucked between two of Appa's legs. Katara was perched one leg over, eyes stuck on the still form of the Avatar as her fingers absentmindedly did their work.

In fact, the only one who was truly silent was Sokka. With his boomerang resting across one knee and his machete at home in its sling, he was ready for just about anything. But not this.

"Toph."

Again his call was met with nothing. He wondered if she didn't hear him (but how could she not, in this quiet?), or if she was just ignoring him. He was certain it was the latter. He tried again.

"_Toph_."

Her eyes, which had been drifting across his face, seemed to pin point his own and lock there in a split second.

"What, Sokka?" she spat sharply, voice ringing in the silence. She sounded tired and worn and defeated, and her face looked especially pale in the moonlight.

His complaint seemed trivial in the heavy atmosphere around their small group and strange considering it was Toph that it was directed at, and despite the fact that it sounded odd even in his own mind, exhaustion and defeat made it seem like it was more than he could handle.

She was looking at him expectantly, and he didn't swallow his words: "You're staring at me."

Her eyebrows shot up behind dark bangs. "Well, excuse me, your highness," she retorted. "I'll be careful to avert my eyes next time."

His brow furrowed and he clenched his hand. "Don't call me that."

"Then stop acting so conceited."

"I'm _not_ acting conceited," he shot back. Her eyes were still trained on his face. "And stop staring at me—it's creepy."

"Thanks a ton, Sokka!" she bit back, Earthbending herself up and taking a step in his direction. "I really appreciate being called creepy!"

Sokka stood up himself, pointing his boomerang at her. "Don't you blame this on me! You're the one who—"

"Sokka! Toph!"

The Earthbender and the warrior both turned to the Water Tribe girl, who was brandishing a water whip and looking fierce.

"If you're going to argue like little children," she whispered harshly, "then do it someplace else. In case you didn't noticed, Aang nearly _died_ back there, and he needs his rest if he's ever going to get better, so I don't want you two arguing about something so _stupid_."

Silence rang out loudly and the tension was near tangible. Then Toph turned on her heel and marched straight out of camp and into the looming darkness, not even flinching as what seemed to be an owl-bat swooped above her. Sokka watched Toph walk away, then caught the glare Katara was fixing him with. He frowned, but ran after Toph nonetheless.

She was already engulfed by the darkness by the time he reached the edge of the small clearing they had set up camp in, and he had to pause and stare into the tremendous black before he could even think of moving on. He caught a movement to his right, though, and praying to Yue that it wasn't something that would eat him, dashed after it.

It was dark—painfully dark, even with the light of the moon—and he was having a difficult time seeing. Trees and the space between them blurred into one, and it shouldn't have been so surprising when he ran into something.

What was really surprising, however, was what the something he ran into said.

"What'd you do that for, moron?"

"Toph?" Sokka questioned, squinting in the darkness and thrusting a hand out in front of him. It hit something soft and he curled his fingers around it. "Why didn't you stop me from running into you?"

"With what?" she retorted, her own fingers finding their way around his wrist. "A stone wall? I thought you'd be smart enough to stop on your own, but apparently not." She gave his arm a good yank and pulled him to his feet.

"How was I supposed to stop?" he asked, shaking his hand free of hers. "I can't see a thing out here."

He couldn't see her face, but he could guess the look she was giving him by the way she spoke.

"It must be so horrible not being able to see, Sokka. Tell me, what's it like?" Her voice was bitingly cold.

Sokka ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry, Toph, okay? I'm sorry. B-but I'm tired and Aang—he almost _died_ and Azula and Zuko overthrew the Earth King! I don't know what we can do anymore."

Her voice was alarmingly close when she cried, "Don't you think I know that, Sokka? That's _my_ kingdom that just got taken over! _My_ king that got overthrown! _My_ home that's under Fire Nation control! And you know what else? There's nothing we can do without Aang, and he might _die_!" Tiny hands grasped his upper arms tightly and he could almost imagine them shaking against his bare skin.

His hands moved to her shoulders and gripped them firmly. "Toph—"

"Sokka, I'm _scared_."

She didn't sound scared, just angry and defensive and desperate. But mostly, she sounded small, and that struck Sokka more than anything.

"Toph—"

"I've never said this before, but I really am scared."

"Toph, I'm scared, too."

Her grip on his arms tightened just slightly, and something leaned against his shoulder. It was the top of her head, pressed in the crook of his arm. He touched her head, intending to stroke her hair like he used to do with Katara when she was little, but his hand was instead met with a large black bun that seemed to control her entire head. He moved his fingers down her back, and, unsure of what to do, patted her lightly on a shoulder blade.

Toph's hands loosened on Sokka's arms, but refused to let go. Then she said faintly, "I'm tired."

Sokka pulled his other hand from her shoulder and linked them both against her back. "I'm tired, too," he whispered.

"No, really," she said, lifting her head; her breath tickled his throat. "I've never been this tired in my life."

"Drained," said Sokka. "That's what it is." He sighed and slipped his arms from her shoulders. "Let's go back to camp."

"Yeah," she agreed quietly, dropping her hands from his arms. Then she questioned suddenly, "Can you see?"

He squinted into the dark around him and admitted grudgingly, "Not really."

A small hand slipped into his. "You owe me for this one," Toph said lightly, and he smiled.

Pulling him between trees and over logs, they quickly reached camp. It seemed as if Katara had fallen asleep next to Aang, one hand lain protectively over his—everyone else was asleep as well, and gentle snores filled the camp.

Toph dropped Sokka's hand and approached the sleeping bison. "Might as well join Aang and Katara," she offered quietly, settling between two giant bison legs. Sokka scrambled in the space next to her; the leg between them twitched and Appa made a faint grunting noise.

Silence overtook the camp for a few minutes and Sokka could feel himself finally drifting off when the bison leg next to him whispered, "I don't hate you, Sokka."

He grunted. "I don't hate you either, Toph."

"I just don't want you to think that," continued Toph quietly, as if he hadn't spoken. "I may act like I hate you sometimes, you know, but you're one of my best friends."

"Thanks, Toph."

"And I really don't hate you."

"I know."

Silence reclaimed them once again, and Sokka smiled into the furry leg pressed against his face. He had never been this tired in his life, and sleep was sounding so sweet.

"Sokka?"

He blinked open heavy lids and slurred, "What, Toph?"

There was the faint sound of rustling, then she whispered, "Don't go anywhere, okay?"

He reached a hand like lead across Appa's leg and touched a shoulder. She pushed her hand against his and he squeezed her fingers with what strength he had left in him.

"Okay," he said. "As long as you don't go anywhere either."

Her voice seemed more lethargic now as she murmured, "I promise."

"I promise, too. G'night, Toph."

There was a gentle sigh beside him. "G'night, Sokka."

Silence reigned over them.


	11. Size

**Author's Notes: **Yay for present tense! Yeah! I'm not a huge fan of present tense, but that's what this turned out to be, after writing the second paragraph. Something about this is different from my usual style, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's the present tense... Anyway, I finished this up about half an hour ago, so if you spot any mistakes, please let me know (my proof-reading includes a once over, so mistakes are inevitable). And for those of you who remember my promise of shippiness from last installment... this is not the one. I was planning on uploading a different chapter before this one (as this wasn't even written four hours ago), but this one was begging to be written and I couldn't help but comply. Next time, I promise!

You know, thinking about this story, I really think I poured myself into Toph. I'm nothing like Toph, but she does a few things I know I would do. Maybe _she_ is the one influencing _me_... Well, at least I know that we're both short! Oh, and... Happy birthday, self!

Please **review**, I appreciate every one!

Alisa

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_Just Him and Her_

**Size**

It is the strangest revolution, one that makes him stop and blink and open his eyes, because really, who would have thought? She's Toph, after all, the tough girl who can take down as many soldiers as a full-grown army officer (and probably more), the Greatest Earthbender Ever, this amazing person who always manages to take him out in hand-to-hand combat even though _he_'s the one who can see. She is the one who's tough and strong and sturdy and all these other things that make her seem larger than life, but, he realizes in a burst of sudden and frightening understanding, Toph is _tiny_.

Tiny seems like an understatement, really. With her wrist fitting comfortably in his curled fingers, her pulse beating a steady rhythm in his palm, it strikes him profoundly how small Toph actually is. He can't seem to recall why he grabbed her wrist in the first place now, because all he can see is how little she looks next to him, how little her hand looks next to his. In fact, now that he's noticed it, everything about Toph looks tiny. From her feet to her nose to her waist, every part of her seems small. It amazes him how he's never seen it before.

She's saying something (tiny lips), but he can't seem to get himself to focus on the words. The idea of Toph as anything but giant is slow processing, and he can't seem to wrap his mind around the concept. She's tugging her wrist away now, and the smooth skin rubs past his fingers (when did they get so big?). Hands (little hands with tiny fingers) move to her hips (not quite so little anymore) as she assumes a pose picked up from Katara, and there she is, standing in front of him, no less than a head shorter. He imagines he could crush her if he ever hugged her too tight.

"Sokka!"

His name, uttered in a voice anything but tiny, sounds sharp to his ears, and bold. His ears pick up and his eyes focus on Toph's face, which is set in a thin frown. Her foot is tapping and he knows he's got her in an annoyed mood now.

"Yes?" he asks conversationally, folding his arms across his chest because he doesn't like it when they hang pointlessly at his sides.

Toph blows her bangs out of her face with a gust of air to indicate her irritation and says tartly, "Why'd you stop me?"

Sokka blinks, confused for just a moment, then says, with a half-chuckle, "I'm not quite sure myself."

She throws her hands up in the air and sucks in breath for what is surely to be a spectacular display of her lung capacity, but Sokka decides to nip this in the bud before anything unwanted can bloom.

"You're little."

So perhaps it wasn't the best thing to say, but better the look of absolute confusion on her face than rocks in his.

"I'm... what?" she asks, and he can almost imagine pink flushing across her cheeks, if Toph was the type to blush. She's tight in her stance, confused and not quite sure whether she should be insulted or complimented, though he thinks she's going with insulted by the way she's glaring at him.

"You're little," Sokka repeats, and it sounds funny even when he says it out loud. "I've never noticed it before," he continues, weighing his words, "but you're not... big. You act big, but really, you're not."

She's slipped into an Earthbending stance—subconsciously, he's sure—and is giving him the most adorably bewildered look he has ever seen. It reminds him vaguely of a baby tiger-seal.

Trying not to laugh at the way she's staring at him, he takes the hand nearest him—her left—as it curls in her stance and pulls her near him. She protests halfheartedly, but he ignores her complaints as he spreads her fingers out in front of him. He presses his palm against hers and lines his fingers up with the tiny ones attached to her hand.

"See?" he says, twitching his fingers slightly so she can feel the last knuckles of his fingers bending over her tips. "Little."

She flexes her fingers hesitantly against his own, then pulls her hand back quickly. She folds her hands into her armpits as if to say he's not allowed to touch and then informs him, "Maybe your hands are just big."

Sokka extends his hands in front of him and inquires of them a speedy examination. "Nope," he mutters, now studying the heels of his hands. "I'm pretty sure it's just you. You're little, and that's all there is to it."

Little lips form a full pout, and she says sourly, "Just 'cause I'm little doesn't mean I couldn't kick your sorry butt."

He chuckles, half in amusement and half because he knows what she said is true, then yelps when a small pebble connects with his forehead. He looks down to find her smirking, arms now crossed comfortably across small breasts.

"You're short, too!" he adds brightly as he rubs his forehead, simply because it will annoy her, and he can tell it does when she stands up just a little straighter.

"I am not," Toph protests, sounding defiant like she did when she was twelve. "I'm nearly as tall as Katara."

Sokka snorts. "I don't think you're up to Katara's nose yet."

She stomps her foot despite her age and insists, "I _am_ taller than that!"

He smirks leisurely and places a hand on each of her shoulders. "Let's just find out, shall we?" he drawls, and pulls her close until the tips of her dusty toes are touching his leather shoes and she's leaning away so her crossed arms won't dig in to his ribs.

"There," he says, brushing fingers against her head and measuring her up to his chin. "I'm a head taller than you. That makes you short."

She unfolds her arms to give him a light shove in the chest and says, "Maybe you're just freakishly tall. Ever thought of that?"

A grin breaks out on Sokka's face and he swings a lazy arm around her shoulders. "Maybe _you_'re the one that's freakishly short. Ever thought of _that_?" he questions teasingly, squeezing her shoulders so that her elbow digs into his hip.

"I hate you," she mutters, but there's so little conviction in her words that Sokka can't help but laugh.

"Don't worry, shorty," he says, amusement lining his voice. "It doesn't matter to me how tall you are—you'll always be Toph."

"Thanks for that reassurance, Meathead," she snorts. "It's so comforting to know that I'll always be me."

Sokka fights not to roll his eyes and instead rumples her hair with a free hand, saying, "And it's so comforting to know that you'll always be your sarcastic self."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for," she says smoothly, slipping out from under his arm and grinning up at him coyly. Then she punches him in the arm, hard.

"For calling me short," she explains, and walks off, smirking to herself with that triumphant little smirk that he's fallen so in love with.

Sokka sighs and crumples to the ground, testing the tender area of his shoulder where her fist made contact. It protests at his touch and he is amazed once again at her strength.

He watches her walk away. There is a bit of a strut in her steps, and he notices that this new walk makes her hips move from side to side, just a little. He tries to think of what she would do to him if she knew what he was thinking just so that he might keep the smile from his face, but it doesn't work very well and he instead buries his face in his hands.

It is strange, he thinks again as he stares at his fingers, that he has never before noticed just how little Toph is. When she's with him, she seems anything but little—with her bold, capturing personality, it's as if she fills his entire world to the very corners. But just feeling her thin wrist under his fingers, it made him realize that she is hardly big at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. He imagines that if she were to ever allow him, he would gather her up in his arms and she would fit perfectly, with her head tucked under his chin and her legs drawn into his lap. It would look quite odd, of course, for a grown woman to be sitting in his lap, but he wouldn't mind because it would be Toph and she would fit.

Toph is just... he doesn't even know how to begin with her. So strong, so sturdy, so unmovable, so very Toph, but at the same time, so tiny, so delicate, so very small. Now more than ever Sokka feels the urge to protect her, this little woman who is more than capable of protecting herself. Seeing her, this living oxymoron (a tiny blind woman as the World's Greatest Earthbender Ever), amazes him.

Maybe that's why he fell in love with her.

Or maybe it's her smile.

Or maybe—and he thinks it's this one most of all—it's the way she doesn't let anything stop her, not her size, not anything.

Maybe it was that feeling of her wrist in his hand.

Sokka realizes as he looks up to find Toph above him, offering him a hand and a smile, that although she may be little, she means the entire world to him.


	12. Ba Sing Se

**Author's Notes: **Hmm... what to even say about this. When I started, I was hoping for 800 or so. Then it exploded all over the place. This story has three main ships, two being blatantly obvious and one only mentioned at the end--see if you can guess the crack ship! . . . Anyway. Have you ever met and/or are that type of person who's just constantly holding hands with another person or hugging or throwing an arm around someone's shoulders? Yeah. Those people obviously influence me.

You know, I kinda see Toph as the type of person who's like, "I'll do what I want, when I want, with who I want, and _no_ _one's_ gonna stop me." So if she's in a relationship, she'd have no qualms about PDA, because is it really any of _your _business? XP

Alisa

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_Just Him and Her_

**Ba Sing Se**

It was a beautiful day in Ba Sing Se, the best she'd seen in years. The sun was shining, the breeze was warm, and the city was alive with chattering people.

She took a deep breath and smiled. It had been a long time since she had last been in the city, and it was nice to visit it again, with all the ordered chaos and shouting and happy people and hand-holding couples. She was glad she decided to take a little time off for a vacation—or rather, she was glad she had been forced to take time off for a vacation. She was still a little sour at having been kicked out of her own home, but now that she was here, she was secretly thrilled at the idea of some time to herself. It had been getting a little crowded at home anyway.

Ba Sing Se certainly had changed a lot since the last time she had been there, at—what was it?—seven years ago already. What had once been structured and sheltered was now teeming with life and ever-growing, children now running in the streets and vendors shouting out over the bustling activity of shoppers. She decided that market day was the best day to go out, and moreover, she was rather parched. She'd heard good things about the drink shops of Ba Sing Se.

So, with enough bronze coins jingling in her pocket for more than a few cups of tea, she set out on an exploration of the city, and maybe a bit of shopping while she was at it.

The first street she peered down was filled with rows and rows of carts, all selling clothes of every kind. Shirts and sashes and tunics and pants and dresses and every other possible piece of clothing imaginable, in browns and greens of every shade. She made a mental note to herself to check down this street again later—a particular green tunic had caught her eye.

The next street was jammed full of small shops selling everything under the sun, from pots and pans to cooking ingredients to bolts of cloth in all sorts of colors. There was a jewelry store next to an apothecary, and a beautiful jade necklace looked as if it would match the tunic perfectly.

When she turned down the next street, she couldn't help but sigh in delight. Down this particular path were restaurants and delis and bakeries and carts on carts of different foods. The first thing she did was spot out some good drink carts.

She spotted a quaint little cart that was draped in oranges and yellows, a welcome sight compared to the flood of brown and green around her. Walking up, she realized that it was a cart boasting Airbender cuisine. Thoughts drifting to the Avatar Aang, she got in line and ordered a mango juice, which had apparently been very popular among the monks.

Sipping her drink contentedly, she decided to head back to check out that tunic. She was just passing a tea shop known as the Jasmine Dragon when she spotted them.

It wasn't that hard to recognize them, really. Aang had a giant blue arrow on his head, after all, and was wearing bold orange and yellow robes. Next to him, and in her customary blue clothes, was Katara. If the clothes didn't give her away, then the dark skin and two hair loopies did. Trailing behind Aang and Katara was the little blind girl (not much of a girl, though), Toph. While her memory of Toph recalled a bun, this Toph had her long black hair trailing down her back in a thick braid and a pale green tunic covering yellow leggings. She looked remarkably older, despite the fact that she was nearly the same height as she had been seven years ago. Walking close to her was—she felt her breath catch in her throat—Sokka, his long hair tied back neatly and blue Water Tribe garb obvious. He looked older, better, more mature than the last time she had seen him, three years ago and counting. They had lost touch.

She felt his name pushing against her lips as the group continued to walk farther away. She raised a hand in a half-wave when it happened.

That little girl, that Toph, gave Sokka a half-hearted push and he stumbled into his sister. Righting himself—and laughing?—he slung an arm around that Toph's shoulders and pulled her closer, his other hand ruffling her hair. She seemed to be the perfect height for that. One of her tiny hands reached up to his back and took a handful of blue cloth to pull him closer, and he nearly tripped on her feet. She laughed at that—Suki could hear her laughter even from where she was. It sounded cheery and bright and happy.

She couldn't remember happy laughter from the blind child in the time they had been traveling together all those years ago. Then again, she couldn't remember happy laughter from Sokka either, and yet here it was, ringing throughout the crowded street and making people turn.

One rash decision later and she was trailing after the Avatar and his companions as they continued their journey through the market. She wasn't spying, really... no, she was just watching her friends, just—_observing_ them.

She took a sip of her drink as the group stopped at a cart near the end of the road. Katara seemed to be purchasing something with Aang as Sokka and Toph waited. They were having a conversation, the two of them, as they stood side by side. It was private, though, for she couldn't hear a word, even from where she was standing only a cart over, not even ten feet from them.

As she watched, the little Toph said something (she could see her lips moving), then grinned wolfishly. Sokka blushed a cherry red and gave a sharp "Hurry up, you two!" to the shopping pair. Then he turned and his eyes landed directly on her.

She felt her face heat up for the first time in what felt like forever as gazes locked, brown on blue. Her legs were rooted and she doesn't know why.

His voice sounded faint and distant when he spoke. "Suki?"

Suki blinked, surprised he had even recognized her without her makeup.

"Suki!" he said again, loudly this time, his arm slipping from around Toph's shoulders as he bridged the distance between them in three quick steps. Arms were around her in an instant and she couldn't help but notice that he smelled strongly of Earth.

He pulled back and she breathed his name, more to relax herself than anything.

"What're you doing in the city, Suki?" Sokka asked brightly, acting much like he had at fifteen.

"I'm just taking a little vacation," she replied, a smile forming as Aang, Katara, and Toph approached. She gave hugs to each, albeit slightly awkward ones, then blinked when she noticed something. Suki pointed a finger at Katara.

"You're pregnant!"

"Ah! Yes," Katara said, placing the hand that wasn't holding a bag of Fire Flakes on her barely-there stomach. "But how'd you know?"

"You're starting to show, I told you that," Sokka cut in, then returned his attention to Suki. "How's everything at Kyoshi going?"

"Everything's great. But it's been getting pretty busy back home—that's why the girls forced me on vacation. They said I needed a little down time."

"Good thing you came to the new Ba Sing Se!" proclaimed Aang brightly, popping a Fire Flake from his own bag in his mouth.

Suki nodded and observed the three smiling faces in front of her—and one scowling one. She coughed.

"So, Toph, how have you been?"

"Fine."

Suki blinked at the curt answer; Sokka flicked Toph in the head with a finger.

"So," Katara said quickly, "Suki, have you ever thought about settling down?"

"Katara!" Aang waved a hand at the woman. "Don't mind her," he quickly told Suki. "She's been asking everyone that since she got pregnant."

"She's asked me eight times already," Sokka informed Suki with an apologetic shrug.

"Try twelve!" threw out Toph, arms crossed.

"That's because both of you need to settle down," Katara announced, and Suki couldn't help but feet vaguely uncomfortable. "You're not going to stay young forever, you know."

Sokka wagged a finger at his sister. "Just because you had your perfect man thrown at you doesn't mean it's like that for the rest of us. I'm waiting until I find the right woman."

"Wait."

All eyes turned to Suki as she frowned.

"You're saying that you and... Toph aren't together?"

Silence as Sokka shook his head.

Suki felt her cheeks flare up for the second time that day. "Oh, um... I'm sorry. It just... looked like it to me."

"You really think that would work out?" Toph had a hand on each hip. "I mean, me and _Sokka_?"

"Hey!"

Talking over him, Toph continued, "Sure, I'd be able to handle it, but Meathead over here? Ha! He wouldn't stand a chance!"

"I would too!"

Toph gave a sharp laugh and Suki shot a bewildered glance at Aang and Katara, who both looked much more interested in their Fire Flakes.

"—think it would be you!" Sokka was saying, a finger poking Toph's chest with each word. "I could last through any relationship with you!"

"I bet you can't," Toph said, thrusting her hand out in front of her.

"I bet I can!" Sokka countered, and grabbed her hand.

Suki fidgeted in the silence as the two tried to break the other's hand, and then attempted to fill the void by taking a sip of her mango juice.

"Huh," said Sokka, draping an arm around Toph's shoulders as if they hadn't just radically altered their relationship. "Does this mean I have to kiss you?"

"I dunno," replied Toph, sounding awfully sarcastic to Suki. "Hey, Katara, did you 'n Sparky ever lock lips to get that thing inside of you?"

Katara paused from transferring a Fire Flake to her mouth and said mock-thoughtfully, "I seem to remember some kissing..."

"There you go, Snoozles," Toph said. "You'd better practice puckering up, 'cause from what I've heard, you're not very good."

"Hey!"

Suki half wanted to say that _she_ thought Sokka was a good kisser, but then decided again it.

"Hey, Aang?" she asked, a thought passing through her head as Sokka and Toph continued to squabble. "Who's Sparky?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's just Toph's nickname for Prince Zuko," answered the Airbender, who was emptying the last of his Fire Flakes into his hand.

"You mean—Katara's married to Prince Zuko?" she asked, eyes wide and mind boggled.

"Sure am," Katara said. "Say, Aang, you wanna go get a pastry together?"

He smiled brightly. "As long as it's peach!"

They both turned to Suki at the same time and enveloped her in a hug, as if it had been choreographed.

"It was nice seeing you again, Suki," Katara said, and Aang added, "Maybe I'll stop by Kyoshi Island sometime to visit."

"That would be great," Suki said, and waved to them as they walked off together, now arguing good-naturedly about what type of pastry to get.

"So... um..."

Suki turned to find a pink Sokka and an even pinker Toph. His arm was still thrown around her shoulders.

"Me an' Toph are gonna go. But it was great seeing you again, Suki!" he said, and offered a quick hug, which she accepted.

Toph, who was still pink, punched Suki in the shoulder as means of goodbye.

Sokka grinned and whispered from behind his hand, "That means she likes you!"

He received a punch in the shoulder as well, though Suki could tell by his wince that it was undoubtedly harder.

"And that means I said something I shouldn't've."

She laughed appreciatively and waved them off. Once they were out of earshot, she gave an exhausted sigh and watched them walk away, Sokka slipping his hand in Toph's as they went. It reminded the Kyoshi warrior of a father leading his young daughter, the way Toph had to lift her hand up to hold Sokka's.

Suki hardly knew Toph, but she could tell, even within the few minutes they spoke, that the younger girl had feelings for the warrior. She didn't know the extent of those feelings, but Suki was almost positive they were there. As to what Sokka was thinking, though, Suki was having a more difficult time discovering. He was obviously very affectionate toward the young girl, but she wasn't quite sure if it was simply sisterly love, or if it was something more. But either way, Suki was glad for them. As strange as the two seemed together, they fit surprisingly well.

No, she wasn't jealous, like she herself had expected to be when Sokka eventually moved on. If anything... she was relieved. He had moved on to Toph, and she had moved on to Mamoru. (Slightly Avatar-obsessed, but sweet Mamoru nonetheless. She'd have to tell him she saw Aang.)

She was glad, and she was relieved. But mostly, Suki was just happy to be in Ba Sing Se.


	13. Dance

**Author's Notes: **I was browsing the Avatar fanfiction and ran across one with Aang and Toph dancing. A lightbulb clicked on. A simple little oneshot was born. And here we are!

So, I am officially out of school, and this is my first out-of-school post. Yay! I'm just excited to have the time to read and write again. I've been sadly lacking in that for a while now. And it's beautiful out right now, so I think I'm gonna grab a book and read. Yay for summer vacation!

**Review**, please!

Alisa

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_Just Him and Her_

**Dance**

He's smiling and she's smiling and they're twirling through the air, weaving in and out of people like it's nothing. If he listens carefully, he can even hear her light laughter from across the floor as she's twisted and turned and lifted as they move together. He's never taken her as much of a dancer, what with the circumstances and everything, but now that he's watching her move around the floor with such grace, he can't help but wonder what it would be like if they danced together.

She gives a delighted laugh as her partner spins her past him; his hand clenches the delicate hand in his, but his partner says nothing as they sway stoically to the light, cheery waltz.

They're moving more quickly now, traveling across the floor with ease as they pass couple after couple. Her smile is wide and enchanting, and he can't seem to take his eyes off her, nor the frown off his face. He can't help but notice that their bodies are drawing closer and closer the longer they dance. It seems as though the waltz has been going on forever.

His eyes follow the curve of her neck as she throws her head back and he hasn't even seemed to notice that he's stopped dancing. His partner tries to catch his eye, but she can't—she follows his gaze and tuts. She pulls her dark hand from his and places it on her hip.

"If you want to dance with her so much, why don't you just ask her?"

He jumps at the sound of her voice, then narrows his eyes. "I don't want to dance with her."

She clicks her tongue in disbelief. "So you've been watching them dance all evening for no reason whatsoever?"

He points a finger at her and insists, "I have not been watching them, I'll have you know!"

She shakes her head. "If you say so."

"I just—don't like them dancing like that, that's all."

Her lips turn up in a half-smile. "Like what?"

He throws his hands around in a vague gesture and says, "You know, all... _friendly_ like that."

"Then why'd you have them dance together in the first place?" she questions.

He gives her a frank look. "Because I don't want him dancing like that with _you_."

Frowning, she gives his arm a light slap. "If I want to dance like that with him, I will. _You're_ certainly not going to stop me."

He folds his arms across his chest and gives her that frank look again. She frowns in return.

"Well," she says, turning from him, "if you're not going to dance with me, then I think I may need to cut in."

Before he even has a chance to protest and pull her in to dance, she's already disappeared among the twirling couples to where _they_ are dancing. His lips tug down and his brow furrows. He's just about to walk off the dance floor when he sees them steak past him in a blur of sunrise colors. She's smirking at him, he can tell, and then she laughs as she spins through the air. He wants to march up and pull them apart, but then he hears his name.

"Sokka!"

She's at his side in an instant—how, he doesn't know—pink in the cheeks and slightly out of breath and that smile never leaving her face.

"Did you see me and Aang?" she asks, sounding delighted. "He's a really good dancer. You should try dancing with him."

She laughs a light, airy laugh that makes him want to laugh, too.

"You think he's that great?" he asks, just knowing that he's getting himself into a mess. "I bet I'm a better dancer."

She turns her face up to his, her smile morphing into a smirk that he knows means trouble. "You really think so?" she says, moving closer. "I felt you dancing with Katara over here, and you're nothing special."

He takes her hand and tugs her closer. "I guess we'll just have to find out how good I really am."

She laces her fingers with his and places the other hand on his shoulder—she has a hard time reaching. She smirks up at him.

"I guess we will, now won't we?"

They're on the dance floor in the blink of an eye, twirling and twisting and turning. Her laughter fills the air, and he knows that it was never really a contest.

He may not be the better dancer, but he's certainly won.


	14. In a World Full of Liars

**Author's Notes:** Hello there! Because I'm working on several different things (_Big Brother_, a oneshot I just finished up, my chapter story, and that challenge from Nerf-or-Nothing -- I have an idea, by the way), it's been hard to finish up one thing when so many ideas are fighting for top priority. So between scribbling about Mamoru and crazy AU Toph, I've been blinking at a prompts list I have and coming up with simple little drabbles. Thus, this collection was created. ((The title is completely random and has no real purpose, but I like it nonetheless.))

My favorite is _6. Ageless_, for some reason. I think it's mostly the (wanna-be) parallelism that gets me. **Review **and let me know which one is your favorite! Or least favorite, I really don't care. But just so you know, another chapter should be up soon, and a real one at that. Stick around! It's AU!

Alisa

**

* * *

**

_in a world full of liars_

**9. Nature**

_1. Natural_

Katara says it's natural, something that happens to all girls "when their time comes." (She makes it sound painful.) He tries to be nice, considerate, to Toph when her time comes; she barks at him and gives not-so-friendly punches. Katara says that's natural, too. (He realizes it _is_ painful—but not for Toph.) Then she's in tears and apologizing and hugging him in that not-so-friendly way he's learning to get used to. She wipes her nose on the back of her hand and stomps off. All natural, claims Katara. Sokka sighs—he's not sure how much more "natural" he can take.

_2. Devastating_

He got jittery, nervous around her, uncomfortable, confused. He didn't know what to say, how to act, when to breathe, where to stand, why he was like this. He'd never been this way before, not with her, not with anyone, he didn't know why. It was frightening, a desperate ache in his core, a touch into the unknown; devastating, and at the same time, the sweetest thing.

_3. Thundering_

A crack like bone snapping in two and he's awake, just awake enough to be startled by the resounding rumble that follows. Yet again he is thankful for the tent of rock over his head and the dry ground beneath him, the ceaseless bombardment of raindrops almost soothing when he's not in them. A soft sigh, barely heard, next to him, and Toph rolls over. He wonders how she can't be cold without a blanket, and throws his over her. She shifts, faces him, quiet breath tickling his ear; he does the same. A hand finds her waist, pulls her closer (_she's cold—just repaying the favor_). Above, deep thunder reigns.

_4. Lines_

Every movement, every shifting of her body, and they change. The curve of her cheek, the slope of her neck, the arch of her back, every one new and enticing and elegant for all her roughness and his fingers itch, reach to touch her and explore and understand. But he holds back, for there is an even greater line dividing them, one he cannot cross.

_5. Genesis_

It never really had a beginning—she likes to think that it was always there, just bidding its time, waiting for the opportune moment to surface. She just woke up one morning and knew, much like when one can tell if it will be a good or bad day (attributed to that might have been the fact that he was sitting at the side of her bed, watching her sleep). He took her hand and that was that, thank you very much. No one was very surprised, really, because it wasn't much of their beginning—no, she knows, their beginning had been there from the beginning.

_6. Ageless_

They say that love is timeless, that it can overcome all obstacles in its way and triumph over everything, untouched by years or wandering eyes. They say love conquers all, but, she wonders, have _they_ ever been in love? Have _they_ ever cried over one harsh comment or one cruel word? Have _they_ ever fought over every little thing until there's no fight left? Have _they_ ever woken up to find the bed cold or fallen asleep alone? Have _they_ ever been stung by a cold silence or heartless touch? Have _they_ ever fallen out of love? Have _they_, she wonders, fingers grasping the cold stone of the necklace at her throat, ever considered how long forever is?

_7. Beauty_

It occurred to him at the strangest times, how stunning she could be. Occasionally, for one reason or another, she would dress in the most expensive silks and jewels, her face painted and her hair perfumed, and he would think that she looks nice. But later, after she had torn the silk from her frame and washed the perfume from her hair and stomped her feet in the dirt, dressing only in that particular tunic of his that she liked so much—that was when she would take his breath away.

_8. Harmony_

One day she sits down and observes, and Katara notices something. It's something in the way they understand, she thinks, something in the way they communicate. They have something about them that doesn't need words but for all it's worth, Katara names anyway. It's a balance, simpler than the sun and moon but more complex than fire and water, an ever-changing scale never tipped. She calls it harmony, but they call it simply, love.

_9. Survival_

The most basic instinct in life—to fight, to live, to survive. Yes, they knew all about that. But it was more than life and death, more than going on and passing on—it was the difference between a passionate home and a broken friendship, between two hearts as one or one heart in two. It was about survival, and only the fittest can go on.

_10. Protection_

He said they were for protection—from what, she didn't ask. Instead her fingers found the tiny knots and undid them, pulled the long strips of cloth meticulously from his arms. Her fingers traced the untanned skin, palms pressing against flesh often left untouched. The ribbons of dirty white pooled, and exploring hands found faded and worn gloves. Curious fingertips mapped the material, the unique make and style, pulling cloth from long fingers, one two three. Blue joined the white, and he felt exposed and bare without them. Fingers trailed over fingers, palms, wrists, looping and dipping and learning. Pale, slender fingers slipped into place, at home amongst long, dark ones made for hers. Fingers tightened, bare wrist against bare wrist. And he found, in the gentle cup of her palm, that he needed no protection.


	15. Clear Liquor and Cloudy Eyes

**Author's Notes: **Just an explosion of my brain on paper. This is AU and present tense, so beware. The title is a line from the song _Stolen _by Dashboard Confessional, which makes me think of Toph every time I hear it.

A great big thanks to Invaderk for beta'ing once again. Thank you!

Please **review**!

Alisa

_

* * *

_

_Just Him and Her_

**Clear Liquor and Cloudy Eyes**

Cocktail dress.

It's the first thing he notices. That, and the fact that she's arm wrestling a man twice her size (and winning).

She pins his arm and raucous laughter fills the bar—men slap her bare back and lift her arm up in the air in victory, never mind the perfect view down her dress it gives them. She laughs along with them, a lilt in her voice he recognizes. She quickly challenges them and they back down good-naturedly (or as good-naturedly as men can). They disperse now that their fun is over, and she's alone—he quickly makes his move.

"Can I buy you a drink?" he asks, slipping into the chair across from her with ease.

"Martini," she says, sounding aloof and uninterested—he smiles at her, a gesture she can't see.

He orders her drink for her, and she frowns at him. "You sound familiar," she says (he almost wants to laugh). "Do I know you?"

"We might've met before," he answers vaguely, and wonders if her dress was intended to be so revealing.

"What's your name?" she asks, sounding only half as aloof now.

"Ah—Tao," he replies. "What about you?"

"Toph," she replies, then adds with a coy smirk, "but you can call me the Blind Bandit."

He laughs appreciatively, because he knows that's what she wants him to do. The waitress appears (curvy, more so than the girl across from him) and she places the martini in front of Toph. The first thing she does it take the olive out and pop it in her mouth.

They sit in silence for a moment as she chews and he observes. The pale blue silk dress really does look good on her—accentuates what little shape she does have and shows off her thin frame. Her hair is laboriously curled and falls down her back in a shiny wave. The light make-up on her face looks rightfully out of place, and he wonders who did the make-up for a blind girl.

"So, what d'you want, Tao?" she asks. Blind eyes lowered to the table, she takes her cup and downs half of it in one gulp.

"Can't a man buy a pretty woman a drink anymore?" he questions teasingly, and when she only raises her eyebrows, he amends with, "I wanted to know why you're wearing a bridesmaid's dress, that's all."

She tuts. "I was in a wedding, genius."

"I figured as much, thank you," he shoots back. "Shouldn't you be at the reception?"

"I _am_."

"What kind of idiot do you take me for? This is a _bar_!"

"Heh." She gives him a smirk. "Brilliant, you are. You got some kind of degree or somethin'?"

"Oh, ha ha," he deadpans.

She giggles and brings her drink to her lips. "Now," she says, leaning over the table, "either you want something or you're here for an arm wrestle. Which is it?"

He has a hard time diverting his eyes from that tempting neckline. "I—" he begins dryly, then swallows and goes on, "I wanted to ask you out."

She leans back in her chair and nearly teeters it. "No can do, Tao."

_(What he was waiting for.)_

"Why not?" he questions, trying not to sound too eager.

"You seem like a good guy," she says, draining her glass, "but I don't like you."

"What? You got a boyfriend or somethin'?" he says accusingly, even though he already knows the answer.

She gives a sharp laugh in response.

"You're married?" he guesses. "Prefer the ladies instead?"

She laughs outright at that and he's glad she can't sense his smile.

"Then what?" he says, forcing desperation into his voice to hide his amusement.

She taps her empty glass with the olive toothpick as if bored with him. "I just don't like you," she states matter-of-factly.

"There has to be another reason," he insists.

She flicks a loose curl over her shoulder. "I'll tell you a story, Tao," she says. "You ever been to the South? They do things different there. The bride, she's from there, and she's got this brother. And let me tell you, he is a complete _idiot_." She giggles, as if telling a private joke. "But—he's a cool guy. Funny, smart, a complete failure at sarcasm, the whole ten yards. And this guy, he just—he _gets_ me, y'know? I can say something and he just _knows_, 'cause I don't even hafta say anything and he already knows. 'Cause I can do stuff an' he never doesn't get it 'cause he gets me. But sometimes—yeah, a lot of the time, he's just stupid."

She picks up her glass, finds it empty, and puts it down.

"Um… was there a story in there?" he asks, raising eyebrows amusedly.

"And _that_ is why you can't go out with me," she announces, flashing him a victorious smile.

"'Cause you love this guy?" he asks, trying to sound casual and not prying.

"Yea—no." Her brows furrow. "No. I don't love him."

"It sure sounds like you do," he points out.

She blinks. "You really think so?" Then she shrugs. "I dunno. I've never been in love before." The toothpick wanders into her mouth.

"Well, it sounds like you're in love to me," he says, motioning for a waitress to refill her drink.

She gives a snort that's none too delicate. "What, and you're some love expert? You can tell just by being with a person if they're in love?" she quips.

"I may not be an expert," he says, his voice taking on a softer quality, "but I have been in love. I know what it's like."

"Oh, do tell, Doctor Love," she pronounces with a smirk, resting her chin in her cupped hands in what could be mistaken for rapt attention.

"Well…," he begins slowly, unsure how to approach such a broad subject as love with someone so hard to read, "do you like being with him?"

"Do I like being with him?" she repeats, as if contemplating the idea for the first time. "Huh… yeah, I guess. More than my other friends, at least."

"Uh… at least that's a start," he mutters. "So, are you closer to him that any of your other friends?"

The waitress appears with her drink, which she gladly accepts, taking a sip. "He's my best friend," she states, setting the martini down. "I dunno if he thinks that about me, but, yeah, he's definitely my best friend."

"Hmm…. Have you ever—um—thought about kissing him?" he asks quickly.

She plucks the olive from her drink and answers, "Once, a long time ago. Then I accidentally kissed his girlfriend."

He has to stifle his snort. "Really?"

She nods. "She left the next day."

He cocks his head to the side. "I'm not sure if that was a good thing for you or not," he muses, observing her.

"He spent the next few weeks pining," she says blandly, popping the olive in her mouth and taking her time munching on it.

"Bad for you, then," he replies, wincing. "Did he really pine?"

She swallows and deadpans, "Like a fool in love." A wicked grin appears on her face, almost reaching her sightless eyes. "But it was worth it, for the teasing he got from us. He was always blushing, uncomfortable around us, you know."

"But you weren't—jealous or her?" he asks, only half his mind on the fact that he's picking up her glass. "She must've spent a lot of time with him, after all, and he is your best friend."

"I don't remember, it was years ago," she says sharply, suddenly defensive. Her arms cross over her chest and she leans back in her seat. "Besides, I don't _get_ jealous. If he wants to go flirt with a girl he's spent a total of a week with, well, _fine_. That's just fine by _me_."

"Alright, no need to get defensive," he interjects quickly.

"I'm not getting defensive," she counters loudly, but she's pouting and surly and certainly _seems_ defensive.

"Of course not," he says, careful not to leak any sarcasm into his voice. He takes a sip of her martini, half out of habit and half out of thirst. "Well," he says, "are you convinced you're in love yet?"

"Nope," she answers, then adds sharply, "Gimme my drink back, twit."

"Ah." He sets the drink down embarrassedly and she takes it up. "Ah—um—do you, ever…" He gropes for a question, a good one, and has a hard time coming up with anything.

"Do I ever what?" she questions.

"Do you ever…," he says slowly, and then quickly continues, "miss him when he's gone?"

She takes a long, slow sip from her glass. "Yeah," she finally answers. "I do—I do miss him. _Especially_ when he's not with me."

He raises his eyebrows. She's had more to drink than he first thought, if she's answering like this.

"Does your heart ever speed up if he touches you or holds your hand?" he asks. His hands are itching to demonstrate and he stuffs them in his pockets to avoid temptation.

"Why?" she says, holding her chin in her hands. "Isn't it supposed to do that?"

He can't tell if she's being sarcastic or not.

"Only if you like him," he clarifies. "You know, more than a friend. Like you're in love."

"You know," she says, words almost slurring as she reaches for her glass and downs it all, "maybe you're right. Maybe I am."

"Maybe you are what?" he prompts, palms sweaty on the inside of his tuxedo pants' pockets.

"Maybe I am in love with him," she mutters, then adds, "Even if he is stupid sometimes." She pauses to giggle. "Wouldn't that be funny? Me, in love, with him?" She laughs at him from across the table.

"I don't think it's very funny," he says coolly. "But I _do_ think you should tell him."

She stops her giggling abruptly. "Tell him? Oh, no, no, no. That would be—stupid, that would be stupid of me, to tell him. He likes other girls, smarter ones, prettier ones, girlier ones," she rambles off, shaking her head so that her curls bounce on her shoulders.

"How d'you know that?" he challenges sharply. "How d'you know he likes other girls? How d'you know he doesn't think you're the smartest and prettiest of them all?"

"He doesn't look at _me_," she says, a tinge of resentment almost evident in her voice. "I'm smart and pretty and I'm the greatest Earthbender in the world, you know, but he's always liked other girls."

"How d'you _know_ he doesn't look at you? You're blind!"

She shoots him with an icy glare that's deadly accurate. "I know."

"Well—have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, he doesn't look at you because he doesn't know if you look back or not?" he questions, voice edging a dangerous desperation.

She scoffs. "Of course I don't look at him—I'm _blind_."

He draws his hands from his pockets and rubs his face with them. "Perhaps he doesn't know if you reciprocate his feelings," he says slowly, just so she'll catch every word and be able to process it.

"Oh." Then she scoffs again. "I said he's stupid, but not _that_ stupid," she proclaims.

"Well, maybe it would make him feel better if you told him you love him," he suggests quickly.

She looks uninterested and aloof again as she replies, "Maybe."

"And maybe it would be a good idea to tell him right now," he hints at plainly.

"Right, right," she says, clearing her throat loudly, then announces quite sarcastically, "Sokka, wherever you are, I just thought I ought to let you know that I love you an' all. Just in case you were wondering."

"Toph…," he moans, "be serious!"

"What? It's not like he's sitting right next to me!" she exclaims, throwing her arms out to empty air on either side of her as proof. "See? No Sokka!"

"What about right in front of you?"

She cocks an eyebrow at him. "You drink too much or somethin'? Your name's Tao, remember? Not Sokka."

He gives a grunt of frustration. "I am Sokka, Toph! I _am_ Sokka!"

She begins to laugh, then quickly stifles it. She squints at him, as if it would help her somehow.

"I am Sokka," he says again, slowly, earnestly. He slips a hand over hers and those wide blind eyes get even wider.

Then they flash with something and the next thing he knows, he's on the floor and spots are dancing in front of his eyes and she's towering over him, furious and sparking with anger.

"You _idiot_!" she screeches. "What d'you think you're doing, taking advantage of me like that?! I oughtta pound your head in! What were you _thinking_? I can't believe how shallow you can be! You know what? I challenge you to an Agni Kai!"

He's on his feet by now, examining the already-forming bruise. "Agni Kai is a Fire Nation thing. Why would you challenge _me_ to one?" he questions conversationally, as if she hadn't just hit him square in the face.

"Because you're so _stupid_!" she shrieks, giving him a hearty shove. People are beginning to stare, he realizes too late.

"Toph…"

"C'mon, I wanna fight!"

"Toph, I'm not gonna fight you," he insists, placing a hand on each shoulder.

She shrugs them off. "Why not, _Meathead_? Afraid of getting your ass kicked by a little blind girl?"

"Toph," he says sternly, and he feels like he's scolding a little girl instead of the woman he loves. "I am _not_ fighting you."

Suddenly she's in his face, fierce and fuming. "_Why_ would you do this to me? Why would you trick me like this?"

"Because—" (He's acutely aware of all the eyes on the two of them and can't help but lower his voice slightly.) "Because I think I—" The words die in his throat and all that comes out is a half-choked sound.

"You hate me, don't you," she says dully, not a question at all. She backs up, folds her arms protectively.

With a fierce determination that he can't quite pinpoint of origins of, he takes her by the shoulders and then she's squealing in his mouth and stars flash across his line of vision because she's hit him square in the jaw again.

"What're you doing!" she shrieks, voice nearly an octave higher than normal, and certainly flustered.

"I was _trying_ to kiss you," he snaps irritably, massaging his jaw gingerly. "What'd you go and punch me so hard for?"

"You surprised me!" she snaps back, voice returned to normal and much harder. She crosses her arms and juts out her hip, muttering something like _trying to kiss me_ under her breath.

"Yes, I was trying to _kiss_ you," he grunts, pushing himself to his feet. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't punch me this time."

"This time—?" she says. "What—_mmmph!_"

It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but it left them both breathless.

"Ah," she says quietly, before grabbing the silk tie around his neck and yanking him down where she can reach him. She kisses him rather forcefully and rather sloppily, but he doesn't mind. What he does mind, however, is the glares he can feel on his back from other bar-goers.

"Uh, Toph," he mumbles between kisses, "can we—not here—"

"Right." She drops down on slipper-covered feet. "Right. Someplace else. Someplace with beer."

He grips her elbow and pulls. "You're drunk enough as it is, we're not going to some place with more alcohol."

She smirks wolfishly. "Not for me. You're not _nearly_ drunk enough."

"Toph—"

But she's already dragging him out of the bar and down the street and into the night air. Trailing behind her, he can't help but admire his sister's taste in clothes. That little dress really is something, but it's nothing compared to the girl in it, and really, he's just fine with that, too.


	16. One Foot Short

**Author's Notes: **Hello, all! (Or whoever's still reading this...) I come bearing Tokka! This took a while, didn't it? (_Big Brother_ likes to eat away at writing time.) Anyway, this is an idea I've come to love -- now I only wish I could draw it... Wouldn't Toph look so cute?

Please enjoy, and **review**!

Alisa

* * *

_Just Him and Her_

**One Foot Short**

"He—llo, Avatar and company!" Toph sang, throwing open the door and inviting herself in.

It was one of those informal get-togethers their little gang often had now that the war was over, the ones where Aang and Toph would show up at the South Pole for now reason at all, or Toph would wake up with the Water Tribe siblings and the Avatar hovering over her, Aang doing so quite literally. This time, Toph managed to track down an Airbender, a Waterbender, a warrior, a lemur, and a certain flying bison as they traveled east.

She's expected a surprised greeting as she threw open the hotel door, but nothing quite like this.

"Toph, what happened to your hair?!"

"It's so short!" exclaimed Aang, dancing a circle around Toph to observe her from all angles.

What used to be sleek, hip-length black hair was now short and choppy, cutting off abruptly a few inches above her shoulders. It shifted and swayed whenever she talked, and it bobbed and bounced whenever she nodded.

"Oh, Toph, why'd you cut it all off?" moaned Katara, her fingers moving to where an extra foot of hair had been. "Your hair was so pretty!"

Toph shrugged and grinned, her hair swaying. "I just figured it was about time for a change," she said.

Katara fingered a lock and tutted. "Whoever cut it didn't even do a very good job!"

"You saying I can't cut hair, Sweetness?" Toph shot back.

"And you cut it yourself, too?" cried Katara. "You're the strangest girl I've ever met!"

Toph only smirked.

Aang stepped in front of her and leaned down, his face close to hers as he observed her through squinted eyes. "It's just so short!" he announced again.

Toph couldn't help but laugh. "That was on purpose, Twinkle Toes."

Katara continued chittering away to herself and Toph turned to the only person in the room who had yet to speak.

"What about you, Ponytail?" she said, her hair shifting gently.

Sokka pushed off of the wall he had been leaning against and tugged on her fringe. "I like it."

Toph smirked up at him. "I figured you would."


	17. Remedy

**Author's Notes: **This was a little idea I had ages ago and finally took a [poorly attempted stab at. If you haven't seen School Time Shipping, then you're not going to get this, since it's based on that completely. Anyway, I don't think it's all that great, but it's something. I'll have a new chapter up tomorrow, too, in case anyone's interested!

Please enjoy, and **review**!

Alisa

* * *

_Just Him and Her_

**Remedy **

Sokka dropped his head into his hands and sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He was in a fix: The Golden Dragon Dance was in only a few short days, and he still didn't know whether to ask Suki to the dance, or Princess Yue.

He peeked between his fingers and found his two affections having another tiff over him, Suki's golden fans flashing and a bright moon hanging over Princess Yue. They were both yelling threats at the other while several of the Freedom Fighters watched in amusement from nearby.

"I have to choose," Sokka said to himself, raising his head and staring hard at the arguing girls. "Suki?" She paused from hitting Princess Yue over the head with her fan and flashed him a smile. "Or Princess Yue?" She looked up from squishing Suki with the moon and blushed sweetly under Sokka's gaze.

Looking determined, Sokka clasped a hand over his eyes, pointed his finger between the two girls, and cried, "I will choose someone!" Performing a sloppy pirouette from the front of the classroom, Sokka opened his eyes and found his finger pointed directly at a curious Pipsqueak.

Sokka gave a small yelp and quickly sat back down at his desk, looking utterly defeated. How was he ever going to choose?

"Don't ask either of 'em."

He looked up, startled, and found that Smellerbee had taken Aang's empty seat next to him. She was gazing up at him with wide brown eyes and a look of honest concern.

"What?" Sokka asked.

"I don't think you should go with either of them," Smellerbee repeated, gesturing to Suki and Princess Yue.

"Why not?" questioned Sokka, sounding indignant.

"You should go with the person you like the most," explained the Freedom Fighter, "but since you can't decide who you like best, you shouldn't go with either of 'em."

Sokka huffed. "Then who am I supposed to go to the Golden Dragon Dance with?"

"With a regular friend—maybe your best friend," mused Smellerbee. "_I'm_ taking Longshot, since he's my best friend." She pointed to where Longshot was shooting arrows at a target painted on the ceiling.

"But then who am I s'posed to take?" whined Sokka. "Ty Lee and Mai and Azula are my regular friends, but I don't wanna take them!"

Smellerbee didn't even bother to look around the room before suggesting, "Why don't you take Toph? Isn't she your best friend?"

"Well… yeah, I guess," Sokka admitted, "but wouldn't it be weird if I took Toph? I mean, she's… _Toph_."

Smellerbee shrugged lazily. "I guess you could always wait until one of your girlfriends finishes off the other…"

"Wha—? No!"

"…Or you could take Pipsqueak."

Sokka quickly got up and marched over to Toph, who was flicking pebbles at the back of Haru's head. He cleared his throat and a pebble hit him.

"Toph, can I ask you something?"

She rocked back on two legs of her chair before saying, "What's up, Snoozles?"

"Toph, d'you want to go to the dance with me?"

Her chair dropped back to all four legs with a dull _thunk_ and she blinked. "What about Suki and Yue?" Toph questioned.

Sokka sneaked a glance to where Suki and Princess Yue were sitting in a huffy silence, their arms folded and their eyes sending daggers.

"I think it would be better to take my best friend," he said simply.

Toph returned to balancing her chair on two legs and said casually, "Okay."

"Okay, yes?" he wondered.

Toph sighed. "Okay, I'll go to the dance with you, stupid."

"Oh. Okay!"

Sokka flashed a grin at Suki and Princess Yue, who both smiled back prettily, completely unawares of his choice. He thought that was probably for the best, as those fans really hurt and he wasn't quite sure what moon powers could do to him.

Dropping into his chair, Sokka rested his chin in his hands and sighed for what seemed like the million and first time that day, a contented smile on his face. The Golden Dragon Dance was coming up in just a few short days, and he figured that he had picked the best girl of them all.


	18. Peaceful Sleeper

**Author's Notes: **Please be warned: the fluff levels of this story are off the charts, no exaggeration, so be careful if you choose to read. This story could be potentionally dangerous to those of low fluff tolerance levels. (Such as myself... this is a pain to reread!) Anyway... if fluff is your thing, enjoy! If not... I'm working on awkward conversation?

Please **review**!

Alisa

* * *

_Just Him and Her_

**Peaceful Sleeper **

She could hear it, if just barely, over the sound of the wind against the side of the building. She could feel it, a flicker of a shadow against the pads of her feet, among the reflected vibrations of mats and tables. She could sense it, hanging in the air like a pleasant memory, drifting through the scents and moments that made up her home.

It was life.

Setting down her grocery basket on a heavy marble table, she quietly trekked through the kitchen and into the living room. There they were, resting peacefully on the floor, the imprint of their bodies slightly marred by the woven rug underneath them. She let the vibrations flow over her, one for every inhale, another for every exhale. It soothed her very core, the waves of life and sighs of breath that emanated from the sleeping pair, and it touched on a nerve that hadn't had the time to be examined in a long while in her busy life.

A flood of overwhelming gratitude and heartbreaking love crashed over her in wave after sweet wave, washing away weeks of stress and frazzled nerves and sleepless nights. Time and time again she was thankful for what she had, always and truly, but it wasn't until now that she realized what her life would be like without the stress and frazzled nerves and sleepless nights:

Nothing.

Tears pricked at her sightless eyes as she knelt next to the warm, comforting forms of her two greatest blessings. Every night she went to bed with them beside her, and every morning she woke to a tender touch or a good tug at her hair.

Every day she would want to hit the pause button on her life and regain control of it as it skyrocketed out of her hands. It was like living in the air.

She didn't have time to rest; she didn't have time to think anymore. It was laundry, food, cleaning, never a moment to pause and thank the spirits that there were people willing to put up with half-washed clothes and burnt fish and dust bunnies in the corners. She never had a chance to be happy that she was blessed with the greatest gifts of all.

A quick inhale; a small, sleepy sigh. Her hand automatically went to the dark head and stroked the short locks—a contented snore came from the tiny body and a rosy cheek pressed further into the soft, dark skin of the body under her.

These two wonderful, beautiful people, these holy gods needless of her worship—how could she ever survive without them? They were her life, her morning and her evening, her kiss goodnight and her sweet-dreams… did they know how much she loved them, how much she needed them to go on? Did they know they were the only reason the Earth spun on? Did they know that they brought sight to her eyes and light to her entire world?

"Toph…?"

She quickly wiped at the tears threatening to trace lazy patterns down her cheeks and smiled at the sleepy-eyed form of her husband. "Glad to see you're finally awake, Snoozles," she murmured, gliding her fingers over his forehead and giving his wolf's tail a playful tug.

He heaved a great yawn in response and stretched his fingers to brush against her knees. The other hand rested protectively over the small frame of the baby napping on his chest.

"Me and Oma—" He paused to yawn again. "Me and Oma were just taking a quick afternoon nap while you went shopping."

A grin flicked across her features. "Obviously." She rubbed her hand against the one on her knee and followed the hot skin up to his elbow, almost unconsciously. She could feel his pulse beating a steady rhythm through his body.

The words slipped from between her lips before she had a chance to consider. "Can I hold her?"

She felt his incredulity and wished she could take it back, but then he was sitting up and the warm, sleeping bundle was being pressed against her chest. Her arms folded naturally around the child and she breathed a satisfied sigh.

"You know," he said, arms stretched above his head, "you don't have to ask me if you want to hold her. She's not just mine."

"I know," she answered, then more assuredly, "_I know_."

He chuckled and slid next to her, fingers brushing the black hair of the baby nestled in her arms. "You can hold her whenever you want," he quietly reminded her, his hand moving from his daughter's hair to his wife's.

"Sometimes I feel like I hold her too much," she admitted, leaning into his touch as he fumbled with her headband. "Doesn't it seem like I hog her?"

"You're her mom," he mumbled, the headband falling from her hair. "You're allowed to hog her all you want."

She smiled as the infant in her arms lazily blinked open bright blue eyes. "I'm really glad she's here, you know. I don't know what I would do without her. Maybe that's why I hold her so much."

He paused from running his hands through her hair and jutted out his lower lip in a pout. "What about me?" he mumbled.

A smirk bloomed on her face. "Don't worry, I'm glad you're here too," she responded. "Without you, I wouldn't have Oma at all."

She could sense the scowl on his face and chuckled. "You're not that bad to be around. Besides," she added slyly, "Oma's not the only one I like to hold."

His arms slid around hers and he lowered his mouth to her ear. "You suggesting something?" he murmured.

"Not with an eight-week-old baby, I'm not," she was quick to correct him. "I am _not_ spitting out kid after kid like your sister does."

"Hmm…" He rested his chin on her shoulder. "Maybe you're right."

She scoffed. "Of course I am. I'm the one giving birth, so I get to make the decisions. Unless you want to give it a try…?"

He quickly shook his head against her shoulder. "That's one women's job I'm not willing to do."

She laughed and the little girl in her arms waved a fist through the air. Grinning, she dropped a kiss on her baby's nose and then one on her husband's jaw. "You two really are something," she murmured.

He breathed a laugh in her ear. "I wonder where we get it from."

She turned to the tiny girl in her arms and smiled, feeling the flickering beats of three hearts. Throughout it all, every day and every hectic night, there was a reason she struggled on, two beautiful reasons that she could never give up. They reminded her why she did everything she did, why she worked as hard as she did, why she tried as hard as she did: it was all for them.

Everything she did was for them.


	19. Passage of a Flower

**Author's Notes: **Ahh, Tokka fic, how I have missed thee. Just a little S3-inspired fic for you that contains about two (2) spoilers, in case you're worried. Now I must go write more fic for I have Monday off!

**Review?**

Alisa

* * *

_Just Him and Her_

**Passage of a Flower**

What surprised her the most was the fact that she hadn't seen it sooner. Maybe she had been too wrapped up in Aang to notice it, or perhaps she was just too worked up about the war to process it. But no matter the reason, now that she could see it, she couldn't _stop_ seeing it.

Her first indication: Seating. She always sat by Aang, if she could help it, and they always sat together too. She assumed it was because she took up all the space around Aang. But when they sat down before she did, before Aang did, even, they always sat next to each other. It was her first clue.

The second indication: It was never "Aang and I are going into town," or "D'you want to pick up some meat with me?" It was always "Toph and I are gonna go look for some dinner." It was always "Me and Sokka have to go pick up some stuff." The second hint.

The obvious indication: After-hours. They stayed up late sometimes, just talking. He liked his sleep, and she wasn't one to hold pointless conversation, but sometimes she would be roused from her sleep by the soft mutterings of their voices around the fire and the quiet chuckling of a private joke. Late into the night, early into the morning: the third piece of the puzzle.

Now that she could see it, she almost looked for it. The way he would look at her, the way she would smile at him. Everything they did together, she thought, was kind of cute in its own way (something she'd never thought to associate with her brother). The way they acted together, the way they shamelessly bantered. (She couldn't help but wonder if she and Aang looked like that.)

It was new and it was different and she sort of liked it in that sisterly kind of way.

When she thought of the first time she realized it ("you go on ahead without us," she'd said), she immediately questioned how long it had been there. How long had she been missing the signs or misinterpreting the actions? How long had she been too concerned about herself to realize what was going on with her brother and friend?

She guessed Ba Sing Se. They did everything together then, just like they did now. She hadn't noticed that they were growing closer over that time, and over the three weeks on their stolen Fire Nation ship, but now it only seemed obvious. By the time Aang woke up, they could communicate through touch, something she thought only she and Aang could do.

It was like a flower—one day a bud, the next day a blossom. She had missed the flower opening, and that almost disappointed her, because they made such a pretty flower (albeit a sarcastic one, but she could overlook that).

When she saw them dancing, a tiny hand tugging at his beard, a laugh bubbled over. Maybe it wasn't so surprising after all.


	20. A Persuasive Argument

**Author's Notes: **Written for thefoxbandit over at livejournal, because we thought this would be the perfect scene.

**Review?**

Alisa_  
_

* * *

_Just Him and Her_**  
**

**A Persuasive Argument**

_In the closet:_

Sokka raised his arms over his head in a stretch and yawned. He had decided when he got up at noon that today was going to be a lazy day, and what better way to start a lazy day then a long bath? Ruffling his long hair that was still wild with bed head, he pulled open the linen closet, fully intending on getting a fluffy towel for his bath.

"Gah! What're you two doing in here?!"

Katara pulled her face away from Aang's painfully slowly. Her glare was particularly irritated and Sokka vaguely wondered if she had her water skin on her.

"What d'you want, Sokka?" she barked, hands still flexing across the Avatar's chest. "In case you haven't noticed, Aang and I are kind of busy."

"Kind of busy?" he squeaked. "Well please, don't let me interrupt you!"

"How kind of you to be so considerate," Katara said shortly, and Sokka could see their lips come together before the door was even slammed in his face.

He made a gagging sound in the back of his throat as unpleasant images of his baby sister and the Avatar flooded his mind. Then he remembered something:

"I never got my towel!"

_In the garden:_

A nice stroll in the garden—that's what Sokka needed. He could feel the tension rushing out of his body as the sounds of birds chirping and the scent of earth and grass overwhelmed his senses. It was a perfect day, nothing but clear skies and a warm breeze. In fact, it would be the perfect day for a—

"—picnic. This isn't half as dull as I thought it would be."

"I'm glad you like it."

Wincing, Sokka peered around a large flowery bush and was met with just the sight he assumed he would be: Zuko and Mai, their lips locked together in a slow kiss. The urge to revisit his breakfast was hard to suppress.

"Afternoon, Sokka," he heard a grating voice say.

He squinted open his eyes to find the prince of the Fire Nation raising an eyebrow at him in that condescending way he had.

"Uh… I'm just gonna go now," Sokka replied hastily. He shuffled away, half-blinded by the hand over his eyes, but that didn't stop him from catching the glare Mai was giving him as she brought her lips back to Zuko's.

_In the kitchen:_

"I just don't get it!" Sokka complained, shoving a pastry into his mouth whole. "Everywhere I go, I end up seeing people kissing!"

Toph took a bite of her moonpeach and turned her face toward his. "Now who did you see?"

"First I see Aang and Katara going at it in a closet!" he fumed. "The Avatar and my baby sister—" he struggled for a moment, "—kissing!"

"Oh, is that all they were doing?" Toph replied. "I've walked in on them doing much worse."

She didn't need to see to know the face Sokka was making. A grin broke out on her face.

"A-and then—then!" he sputtered helplessly, "I catch Mai and Zuko behind a bush!"

She cocked an eyebrow. "Why were you looking behind a bush in the first place?"

"Toph!" Sokka sent her a sharp glare. "You're not helping!"

"Hey, I can't help it if you're such a jelly-legged wimp," she retorted easily, taking another bite of her moonpeach.

"I'm not a wimp!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "I just don't approve of all this lovey-dovey kissing going on!"

She faced him skeptically. "You know," she said, gesturing at him with her moonpeach, "maybe if you got yourself a girlfriend, you wouldn't have such a problem with this."

"A girlfriend?!" he repeated, sounding shocked. Then he stroked his chin and raised his eyebrows. "A girlfriend… huh, that's not a bad idea!"

"Thanks," Toph replied thinly.

"But where am I supposed to get a girlfriend?" Sokka mused out loud, having completely ignored Toph's comment.

"Huh," Toph pondered sarcastically. "Now _where_ in the _world_ could you possibly get a girlfriend?"

"That's exactly what I need to figure out! Maybe if I—"

"Oh you idiot!" Dropping her moonpeach, Toph stood and bridged the space between them in three quick steps. Her eyebrows knit, she reached up, took his face in her hands, and pulled his lips to hers.

She pulled back quickly and took a deep breath. "D'you get it now, Sokka?"

"Uh…" He shook his head slightly, as if to clear it. "Yeah. Yeah—I, uh, I think I get it."

"Good."

Toph brought her lips to his, and suddenly Sokka wasn't too concerned about Aang and Katara any more.

_In the closet again:_

"Ah—! What are you two doing?!"

Sokka frowned at his sister from over Toph's shoulder. "What does it look like we're doing, Katara?"

Katara flushed. "It looks like my big brother—"

"D'you mind, Sweetness?" Toph cut in. Her hair was particularly ruffled. "In case you haven't noticed, me and Sokka are kind of busy."

"Kind of—? Well, don't let me interrupt you!" the Waterbender huffed.

"Thank you! Toph, if you don't mind—?"

A solid wall of rock filled the doorway. No one would be bothering Sokka and Toph for a while.


	21. Three Things & One, Told the Earth King

**Author's Notes: **This little ficlet was written for Invaderk as a Christmas present! Invaderk gave me the okay and so I'm posting it here to share with all you lovely folk as well!

Just as a note, so no one gets confused: The Kuei in this story is the nephew of the Earth King we grew so fond of in season 2. He's also quite as naive as his uncle.

And please **review**?

Alisa

* * *

**_Three Things Toph and Sokka Told the Earth King (and One They Didn't)_**

**_1._**

"Your guests are here, my lord."

The guard ducked out of the room and Earth King Kuei could hear his visitors before he could see him. Jovial shouts and laughter and a sudden, sharp "ow!" preceded them. The fourteen-year-old king sighed a deep sigh and straightened his robes.

The Fancy Door burst open with a clang and the chatter of the two reverberated around the hall in a sudden assault. Earth King Kuei hid his wince expertly and planted a warm smile on his face.

"Welcome, Lady Wang!" Kuei announced cordially. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se!"

"Ehh?" The tiny woman who had entered the room cocked her head in the direction of the voice and shouted, "Who is that? What's going on?"

The Earth King's face crumpled in confusion. "Um… it's the Earth King, Lady Wang. Earth King Kuei, you're here to visit me, remember?"

There was a beat of a second, then Lady Wang started giggling. She placed her hand in the elbow of her guard and tugged him forward, still laughing, and said, "I'm just kidding, Kuei, I know who you are. I may be blind, but I'm not stupid!"

The king grinned uncertainly as the guard (a smirk unmasked on his face) tugged the blind woman forward and into Kuei's view. The Earth King's eyes narrowed.

Lady Wang was beautiful. Young. Eighteen, maybe.

She was supposed to be eighty.

"Who are you?" Kuei whispered, feeling suddenly exposed and threatened.

The grin on Lady Wang's face widened and her guard chuckled.

"No need to be so worried, Kuei," the woman said, swinging her arm from her guard's and sauntering to his throne. Her smirk was mischievous as she threw an arm around the Earth King's shoulders.

"We're not here to hurt you," the guard added, his blue eyes twinkling as he loped to Kuei's other side and draped an arm around his shoulders. "We're here to _protect_ you."

Fear-fueled adrenaline rushed through Kuei's veins as he faced the prospect of two assassins in his throne room, their arms thrown around his shoulders. The half-rational thought of screaming for his guards crossed the king's mind.

"And don't bother calling for your guards," the woman added off-handedly. "I took care of them already."

Kuei swallowed and hoped death would come painlessly.

Suddenly the man chuckled and pulled back from the Earth King. "I think we've scared him enough, Toph."

The woman drew back and pouted. "Ah, but I was just starting to have fun!"

Kuei's eyes blinked out of his pale face, flitting quickly from face to face in confusion.

The man held out a hand which Kuei took without thinking.

He grinned. "Sokka and Toph, at your service."

**_2._**

"Pretty nice place you got here, kid," the woman—Toph, the Greatest Earthbender in the World, his guards had explained with admiration and a touch of jealousy—announced, patting the floor and making it quake slightly under her touch.

"A lot nicer than old Kuei had it," the man—Sokka, a Southern Water Tribe representative, a toughened warrior already getting glances from the maids—added from where he was sprawled out on the floor next to Toph.

Kuei gave a noncommittal shrug as he shifted again. He wasn't used to sitting on the ground, especially with diplomats (however unconventional the diplomats were).

Suddenly Toph's head popped up. Kuei found her especially intriguing, not only because she was very pretty, but because she was blind and yet as agile on her feet as any of his guards.

"Hey, Kuei, where's your bear?"

Sokka shook his head. "Toph," he said patronizingly, "that was the _old_ Kuei who had a bear."

Her fist met his shoulder. "I know that, idiot," she barked good-naturedly. "But _you_ don't know about Earth Kingdom traditions like the Earth King's bear."

Kuei cocked his head. "What tradition?" he asked quietly.

Toph gasped dramatically and Sokka snorted. She ignored her companion as she exclaimed, "You don't know about the tradition of the Earth King's bear?"

A flush painted the young Earth King's cheeks as he shook his head.

"C'mon, Toph, tell us what this 'tradition' is," Sokka prodded a little skeptically.

She slapped his shoulder again. "It's a true tradition, Sokka," she said. "Every Earth King is supposed to have his own bear. The tradition says that the spirit of the very first Earth King comes into the bear and guides the new Earth King."

The three sat silently for a moment, and the Sokka turned to Kuei. "So, where's your bear?"

**_3. _**

It had been a long, _long_ day for Earth King Kuei. He tugged at the collar of his restraining robe as he entered his personal quarters and sighed in relief. He was ready for a hot bath and a good night's sleep, free from unrefined Earthbenders and loud warriors and made-up traditions about bears. He scowled at the last one—he much would have preferred a cat-owl.

Kuei threw his hat on the stool in front of his mirror and got as far as the bathroom doorway before he stopped dead. There were people in his royal bed.

More specifically, Sokka and Toph were in his royal bed.

He backtracked slowly to the foot of the massive bed, where he could see a pair of bright blue eyes peering at him from over the blankets. A mass of black hair was all be could see of Toph.

Kuei was past formality with these two.

"_What_ are you doing in my bed?"

The blanket lowered to reveal a pout on Toph's pale lips. "But Earth King Kuei _always_ let us stay in his personal quarters…"

Sokka nudged her shoulder and whispered harshly, "I told you new Kuei wouldn't like it."

Her pale green eyes and quivering lip seemed to tug at what little lenience the Earth King had left in him. "It's fine," he breathed out. "I'll find someplace else to sleep."

"Hey, thanks, kid," her high voice intoned as she snuggled deeper into _his_ bed.

"We'll pay you back," added the rumble of the warrior.

Kuei allowed himself a small smirk. They'd pay him back, alright; he'd make sure of that.

**_& One They Didn't _**

Sokka blinked his eyes at Toph and popped another chocolate in his mouth (which had been conveniently "borrowed" from the kitchen). He rolled over onto his stomach and wondered offhandedly, "D'you think we should've given that letter to new Kuei?"

He gestured vaguely to the Earth King's desk where the letter was with the plate of chocolates, scattering a few over Toph's legs.

They sat in silence for a moment, pondering.

Then they both started to laugh.

_Dear Earth King Kuei,_

_ Don't believe anything Toph or Sokka tells you._

_ Very, very sincerely yours,_

_ Katara of the Southern Water Tribe_


	22. Three Times & One, Dress

**Author's Notes: **This little ficlet was written for PrincessSketchy over at livejournal as a Christmas present! With her permission I'm posting it here.

I'd also just like to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews for the last chapter. It really means a lot to mean to read what you guys think! Hopefully you'll all enjoy this oneshot just as much as the last one.

Alisa

* * *

**_Three Times Sokka Saw Toph in a Dress (and One Time He Didn't) _**

****

**_1. _**

****"Earth!"

"Fire! Gah!"

Sokka accepted defeat and tried not to wince as Aang flicked him firmly on the forehead with a finger.

The sound of a door opening interrupted their game and he turned to glare at the intrusion.

Instead, he blinked.

Toph was the Blind Bandit. Toph was a tomboy. Toph was dirty and uncultured and slept under a rock tent and was fit for rough-and-tumble play in the dirt with the boys.

This Toph, the Toph in front of him, the Toph wrapped in silks and adorned with a headdress and colored with makeup, the Toph who looked impossibly long and elegant, this Toph was not the Toph he knew. The Toph he knew was not girly and coy, not like this Toph. His Toph didn't have earrings or clean nails or _hips_.

He eyed this new Toph again and came to a stunning conclusion, one he didn't let show: Toph was a _girl_.

****

**_2. _**

****The warm summer air ruffled his hair as he waited for his makeshift family to appear. The coronation of Firelord Zuko started in half an hour, and although he wouldn't mind arriving late, he knew for a fact that Katara—and Aang, by association—would. Toph wouldn't; he knew that too.

Then (_thank the Spirits it's about time!_) he heard the door slide shut behind him and the gentle sound of feet padding bare on the earth.

"Hey, Toph," he said, not bothering to turn around to greet her, knowing she would've done the same for him.

"But she's _blind_," a patronizing voice reminded him, and Sokka nearly jumped out of his skin. The few times Katara's voice spoke in his head always startled him; not because it was a shock to hear her, but because she influenced him enough to get a small voice in his mind and he wasn't sure he liked that.

"It's polite to address people to their faces," Katara's voice chided, and his body seemed to work of its own accord as he circled on the spot.

And then—it didn't matter that he hadn't wanted to move, or that greeting her again was stupid, or that Katara was talking in his head. All that mattered at the moment, he knew both consciously and subconsciously, was to slow his heart rate down.

She looked so _unreal_, covered in crimson silks and shouldn't-have-been-so-surprising curves. Her long black hair done up with little buns on the sides of her head, with the rest falling down her back in a smooth wave. For (not the) first time, he realized it wasn't her bulky clothes that caused the small bumps under her shirt.

She looked so—so… so _pretty_.

Her hands went to her hips, as if she knew exactly what was running through his head (_uh… nothing?_), and then he noticed something else, something extraordinary.

"Toph, are you… are you _blushing_?"

****

**_3. _**

****He bit his lip and shook his head. He shouldn't have been so nervous for a wedding that wasn't his, but he couldn't help himself.

"Help me out with this, would you?" a voice cut through his nerves. "I can't get this stupid thing buttoned. I think Katara picked out this design just to spite me."

Toph appeared from behind the paper wall that divided the room, her petite body forced into the most hideous dress Sokka had ever laid eyes on. He choked back the snort of laughter that had been building up in his throat and managed to instead force out the relatively truthful, "You look nice."

_She_ looked nice; the dress was another story.

"Don't lie," she snapped back, scowling. She looked as if she would have very much liked to punch him, but wasn't able to because both of her hands were occupied with the task of holding her dress up. She settled for stomping on his toes.

"Now help me out," she demanded, planting herself in front of him, pulling the sliding silk back into place.

His eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of the buttons that lined the back of her dress. It looked like hundreds.

"Stop gawking and get to work!" she barked.

He sighed resignedly and began with the buttons at the small of her back.

His fingers were already sore before he was anywhere near done. "Why am I doing this again?" he grumbled moodily. "Don't you have a room full of women who can do this?"

"Yeah," she responded, picking at what looked like clean nails. "But I'm just not comfortable changing with a bunch of girly girls."

He snorted. "But you're more comfortable changing with _me_ in the room?"

Her shoulder blades rose up and down in a captivating movement. It was funny how that worked, how she could be captivating (and in such strange ways!) at one moment, and the next, she could crop her hair and pass for a boy.

His fingers lingered a little longer than necessary over the last buttons.

"You know, you really do look nice," he mumbled to her neck.

She couldn't say anything because it wasn't a lie.

****

**_& One Time He Didn't _**

"You know," he murmured, his voice husky, "I think I like you better like this."

"What?" she asked. "Naked?" Her chin bounced on his chest with each word and her fingers lazily traced the line of his shoulders.

His chuckle rumbled through her until she was giggling along.

Her bridesmaid dress lay in a crumpled heap at the foot of the bed; the floor was strewn with buttons.


	23. As Old & The Benefits

**Author's Notes: **Hello, all! After a long time of half-written stories, I return to you with two pathetically small stories to entertain you. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a stream of oneshots that I want to write/finish but haven't. **  
**

Please enjoy and review!

Alisa

* * *

**As Old as They Are Married**

"Toph, I was just thinking—"

"Really? That's a first."

"—and we're not as young as we used to be."

"Sokka, you're twenty. That's not old."

"I'm sure you're at that point in a woman's life where you want to settle down…"

"I don't want to settle down, noodlebrain, so just stop talking!"

"…so I was thinking—"

"Are you _still_ trying that?"

"We should get married."

A pause.

"I _said_—"

"I _heard_ what you said."

"Then why aren't you saying anything?"

"I'm mulling it over."

"Oh, okay. …Are you done mulling yet?"

"You know what I think, Sokka?"

"Really? You know how to do that?"

"I think we're not as young as we used to be."

They both grinned.**  
**

* * *

**The Benefits of Mud-wrestling **

Sokka scratched his chin with the tip of his boomerang. "Aang?" he said, his eyes never leaving the sight in front of him.

The Avatar's reply was a little slow in coming, as if he was distracted by something. "Yeah?"

"How long has Toph been this pretty?" He gestured in front of them with a sweep of his boomerang.

What had started out as a friendly spar between Katara and Toph had quickly gotten dirty. Both girls were covered in mud and were throwing punches at whatever part of their opponent they could reach.

"Hmm?" Aang's eyes followed the progression of the fight. "Toph's always been pretty."

"Yeah, but—" Sokka winced as the girls tumbled to the ground. "—but when did she get _pretty_ pretty?"

Aang gave a half-hearted shrug. "I dunno. When you noticed?"

Katara pinned Toph under her and was just about to proclaim victory when Toph sent a stream of mud at her face. The fight continued.

"Huh." Sokka scratched his chin with the tip of his boomerang again.

"Hey, Sokka?" said Aang, his eyes drawn to Katara as she Bended the mud from under Toph's feet.

Sokka was silent until Toph formed a boulder and thrust it at Katara. "Yeah?"

"Do you think you're in love with Toph?" Aang wondered. His brow wrinkled as Toph's boulder caught Katara in the stomach.

Sokka drummed his fingers on his leg once, then said, "D'you think you're in love with Katara?"

"Hmm…" The girls were both panting heavily. "I guess we're in the same boat, Sokka," declared Aang.

"I guess we are, Mister Avatar," replied Sokka. His eyes followed the girls as they circled each other, neither willing to make the first move.

"Hey, Katara!"

Sokka jumped at Aang's sudden shout and had to steady himself on the boulder. The Airbender, on the other hand, was already ankle-deep in the mud and waving at the girls.

"Hey, Katara! Could you teach me that move?"

The fight quickly dispersed as Katara blushed and stumbled over the move she had performed flawlessly moments ago. Sokka scratched behind his ear this time.

Maybe, Sokka thought, just maybe… he wasn't giving the Avatar enough credit. He seemed to understand more of the situation than even Sokka could claim.

Maybe…

Sokka watched as Toph Bended the mud from her clothes with a sweep of her hands.

Maybe Aang was better at this, better than Sokka had first thought. Maybe, even, he thought, watching his sister tease the Avatar, good enough to make an example of.

Sokka grinned and slid off the rock into the mud.

"Hey, Toph! Think you could you teach me that move?"


	24. Three Times & One, Engaged

**Author's Notes: **This took a painfully long time to finish, but it's finally done. It took a couple of versions and it might not have been very conducive to write it backwards, but it's finished and I'm happy. Also, **please read the back story**. It really helps the story along.

Please enjoy and review!

Alisa

* * *

_**1. **_-- Toph is 14.

_**2. **_-- Toph is 16._**  
**_

_**3. **_-- Toph is 19.

_**& one time she wasn't **_-- Toph is 21.

**Backstory:** At the Battle of Sozin's Comet, the Avatar defeated Firelord Ozai. That, however, did not bring an end to his reign of terror. A fight for the throne arose and loyalist groups began rebellions throughout the Fire Nation. Even with the Firelord gone, the war between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world continued. A year after the defeat of Firelord Ozai, Aang insisted that Toph, Sokka, and Katara visit their respective homes; they'd already spent too much of their childhoods at war. They grudgingly went along with Aang's plan. It didn't take long, however, for the Gaang to regroup. Some time later, Aang seized back the Fire Nation throne and handed it over to the most capable and most unwilling person for the job, Iroh. All the while rebellion broke out over the land. Iroh thought it would be most advantageous if the Fire Nation was to show its humility by marrying a foreigner into the royal family; that, however, did not turn out as he had planned. Several years passed, in which the Gaang traveled the world, trying to negotiate an end to the war and make peace. Things had just started to settle down when the largest group of rebel leaders struck along the Earth Kingdom's western coast. Recruits were called and the group was crushed. This put an end to most of the rebellion within the Fire Nation and the country slowly began to stabilize. The war lasted 110 years.

* * *

**_Three Times Toph Was Engaged (& One Time She Wasn't)_**

**_1._**

She swaggers into breakfast ten minutes late and not caring one bit. The _(always)_ disapproving looks of her parents ricochet off of her, bounce back to them (years of practice).

"Thank you for joining us," her mother intones in complete sincerity; her father snorts into his cup of tea.

She slumps into her seat and waits until she's shoved an entire sweet roll into her mouth before replying, "No problem."

Her mother takes a delicate sip of tea and her father clears his throat.

"Daughter," he begins, hands folded lightly on the table and _now_ he's got her attention, "there's something your mother and I would like to discuss with you."

She washes down the bread with a swig of tea and delicately wipes her mouth on her sleeve. "I'm all ears," she announces, propping her elbows on the table _(she can _hear_ them wince)_ and cupping her chin in her dusty palms.

He clears his throat again; his nerves sing to her sensitive ears. She raises an eyebrow and wants to grin her cocky Blind Bandit grin. She doesn't.

"Now that people have… _discovered_ what a lovely young lady you are—"

"You mean now that people know I exist," she helpfully supplies.

He ignores her—she chuckles darkly to herself—and continues, "Now that you've reached a marriageable age—"

"I thought marriageable age was seventeen."

Her father grips his hands tightly and plows on, "Your mother and I have decided you're to be engaged."

Silence (she thinks), and then…

A quiet buzz, like ants marching on sand, or light reflecting off water, fills the room _(or maybe just her head)_. She blinks, slowly. Once, twice, three times. She hears voices in her head, maybe from memories, maybe from echoes, maybe from that thing called a conscience that's far more intelligent than she.

She jams a finger in her ear, rotates it, and says in a flat voice, "What?"

"He's a lovely boy, dear," her mother says smoothly. "He's handsome and charming and comes from a prominent family."

"I'm not getting engaged," she says, more loudly than necessary. The buzzing _like a hive of bees or Aang's incessant chatter_ makes it hard to hear.

"He's heir to his family's estate," her father continues, as if she hadn't spoken. "He'll provide a large home and rich surroundings and everything you'll ever need."

"I'm _not_ getting married." Even louder this time, just to get rid of that buzzing.

Her mother takes her hand and pats it soothingly. "Don't you worry about a thing, darling. Ren will protect you from everything, just as your father and I have."

_Protect you just as your father and I have…_

The Earth tremors; her chair topples backward as she stands; pink smarts across her face like a slap.

"I do not," she growls, fists tightening, eyes stinging, Earth dancing, "need to be protected. And I _definitely_ don't need to be protected by some snotty rich kid who thinks he can get rid of me by locking me up in some fancy house!"

She turns from them, hides her face so they won't see the tear rolling from her eye. "There's only one person who's ever protected me," she says _(imagines closing her hand around his)_, voice rising, louder, _louder_, "and it certainly wasn't either one of you!"

Silence, and in her ears, that thick ringing, buzzing, flying for the first time, too many hugs from Sokka, seconds from unconsciousness white noise. She thinks she can serve the tension as soup for lunch.

Her father clears his throat.

"You'll be meeting with Ren tomorrow for lunch," he says, as if she hasn't just thrown a tantrum. His voice isn't hard or disciplinary, but completely and utterly confident in his words. Hot anger scratches at her insides—_so arrogant, such an overconfident man!_

"I'm afraid I won't," she says, teeth clenched, trying to bring her voice back down from seething.

"You'll wear a lovely little silk dress I had made," her mother adds, and distain at her daughter's choice of clothing leaves an aftertaste in the air.

"I won't, _Mother_," she spits, _so disrespectful!_, "because I'm not going to be going to any dumb lunch. I'm not getting engaged to some guy I don't know."

Her father clucks and shakes his head. "Don't be stubborn, Toph. Every proper young lady has an arranged marriage. It's our way of life."

A sharp, bright "ha!" falls from her lips. "It may be _your_ way of life," she says, her mother lifts her perfectly painted eyebrows, "but it's not _mine_."

Picking up his chopsticks—did he even hear her talking?—her father states, "We will discuss this later, when you have your head about you," and brings some rice to his lips.

Her mother takes a sip of tea and puts in, "Chizu will come into your room later to get your measurements."

Never more in her life has she wished she could be a Firebender. She wants to breathe fire like Uncle Iroh, to set the table aflame, to make them see that her opinion does count for something, is worth considering, _will make her future_.

Instead, she turns on her heel and leaves the room. She walks with perfect ease _(the house only shakes once)_ to her room. She uses her meteorite bracelet to lock the door. She gathers the calligraphy set she stole from her father's office. She grinds the ink stick just as Sokka had showed her _(his hand warm over hers, guiding)_. A few drops of water from her wash basin and she dips the brush into the ink, blots the access off, puts brush to parchment and writes:

_ Come get me._

She's gone the next day.

**_2._**

The doleful sweet melody of the tsungi horn sings through the high-chambered room. She can see the figure of Uncle Iroh behind the instrument—she asked him especially to play.

Her dress, layer on layer of fine silks imported from the farthest corners of the Earth, ruffles around her ankles and suffocates her in the sweltering Fire Nation heat. She has the sudden, biting, overwhelming urge to rip the expensive cloth from her body and continue on her walk in only her new underwear.

But that would be disrespectful, she thinks scornfully. _—Disrobing in front of the royals, oh how very scandalous. Mother would be ashamed._ (She almost laughs at the idea.) A bead of sweat trickles down her back teasingly. Can't disrespect the future in-laws, she thinks, and licks her dry lips.

Her feet, bare and dirty no matter what _anyone_ says, halt next to the crown prince of the Fire Nation. Anxious waves roll off of him and crash over her body like the cold spray of the ocean; a chill shivers down her spine, sudden, enough to make her teeth rattle. He's nervous, pressed too hard, not particularly fond of her but it's for the good of the world and someone has to do it. She tries to keep the scowl from flashing across her face.

His eyes fall to hers, for just a second of a moment. She's not the woman he wants—she knows his eyes are seeking out a different face _(with pretty eyes, not clouded gray)_.

She knows, if she could, her eyes would be seeking out a different face, too.

The Fire Sage's voice drones dully in the background, a backdrop to her thoughts. Uncle Iroh, that tea-loving, adopted grandfather of hers, the sweet, wise old man who thought that she would do some good for his nephew and his country, he was happy (_as long as you're happy, Toph_). Her parents, they would finally have their invalid (_oh yes still little blind Toph, she hadn't fought in the war, never_) daughter married off, out of their hair—_someone else's problem now_. Her friends, oh her friends, they were so happy (confused), happy for her and for Zuko.

_ (Hands tight on her arms, Are you sure this is _

_ what you want?  
_

No.

_ I'm sure.)_

Her hands clench.

"No."

Voice echoing loud, defiant, every eye turning to stare, Fire Sage stuttering to a halt mid-word—Zuko blinks and questions quietly, "Toph?"

A flush splashes her face and she pulls the ornate headpiece from her hair. It clatters to the marble floor in dead silence.

"I can't do this." She pulls at the tight corset, and suddenly she can't breathe. "I won't."

She hears the startled gasps of the audience and her mother's soft cry of, "Toph!"

Zuko reaches for her arm. "Toph…"

"Don't be an idiot, Princess," she spits, chest heaving. "You don't want this any more than I do."

He recoils, but doesn't say a word.

The voice of the Fire Sage breathes in her ear. "Child, hold your tongue! You're about to marry the crown prince of the Fire Nation!"

"Shut up!" The shout tears from her body and she gasps for air. "I'm not marrying this idiot!"

The Sage gasps quietly at such blasphemy.

She gives a low, breathy, angry chuckle. "If you love him so much, _you_ can marry him. But _I'm_ not making such a _stupid_ mistake."

Zuko places his hand on her shoulder. "I understand," is all he says, and a silent chill falls over the room.

All she can hear is her own raspy breathing, the heavy silks heaving with her chest, the lingering ring of her headpiece falling to the ground. She can feel the seconds passing, heavy and uncertain.

Her cheeks feel red for a different reason.

Blowing her bangs from her face with a huff of air, she crushes her silk skirt to her knees and stomps down the stairs from the alter to Agni. She pauses, sharply, and turns.

"Help me out of this thing, would you?" she barks, tugging fruitlessly at her corset, and Katara stands uncertainly.

She trudges from the room, forcing her feet not to run, Katara scuffling along behind her. The moment they pass through the great iron doors (_oh to punch one right now!_), a wave of shuffling feet and whispered exchanges and scandal hits her ears.

"Toph!"

She turns to his voice, relief flooding her to her very core.

Not a moment to think before she's in the air, stolen from the earth, dress flying around her. His arms are warm around her waist and his chest is hot through his thin shirt, but this kind of heat she welcomes.

He lowers her to the ground but his body continues to press unfamiliarly against hers.

"You had me worried there," he breathes against her neck. "I almost thought you were gonna go through with it!"

She presses her hot face against his chest and grasps his shirt in her tiny fists.

"So did I."

**_3. _**

"Listen," he says, voice soft, comforting, "I'll be back. I'll come back. You know me."

A frown skates across her face and her hands clench delicately. "Just because you say that doesn't mean it's going to happen, Hotaru. I knew people who said the same thing—" Her frown deepens as memories, fresh as yesterday and just as painful, flash through her mind. "—and they never came back."

His hand brushes lightly along her jaw line and moves to cup her cheek. She wants to turn away, turn away and fight him until he hears reason, but instead she shifts her cheek into his palm and closes her eyes.

"I love you," he murmurs, breath sweeping across her brow. "I love you. I'll come back."

Her face hardens characteristically.

He brings his eyes down to hers and presses his lips lightly against her own. She tries to remain firm (for him for her but _oh_ the way he moves his lips) but he's warm and inviting and too familiar and she can't help but love it when he kisses her this way.

He pulls back and his breath washes warm over the pink of her cheeks. "I have something for you," he whispers, suddenly, voice flush with excitement as he moves. He kisses her again, quick, a peck on the lips, a smile in the touch, and presses something into the palm of her hand.

She blinks and tries to hold in her surprise. Her fingers move over the tiny object. Smooth, warm from his heat, engraved, she can tell, by a skilled Earthbender. She slips it over the finger on her right hand.

"Toph!" he says, sharp and offended. His fingers move deftly and the ring is tugged off. "I'd think an intelligent EarthKingdom girl like you would know that engagement rings go on the _left _hand."

Her breath hitches in her throat as he brings his hand to hers, slides the ring in to place, kisses her wrist tenderly.

He gives a nervous, airy exhale and grips her fingers. "What d'you say?"

Her lips meet his fiercely. Then she pulls back and shoves him.

"You idiot!" she yells, stomping her foot, tears tracing paths down her cheeks. "You're leaving today!"

He tries to pull her into his embrace, but she fights. A wave of energy quakes the ground; she tightens her fists.

"You're going off to fight in the damn war and you choose today to propose?" she says, trembling with fury. "You could get killed!"

"But I won't," he replies calmly. He reaches for her, and this time she doesn't fight his arms. "I love you," he repeats into her hair. "I'm going to come back."

Unfortunately,

_ (he doesn't.)_

**_& One Time She Wasn't_**

His lips brush past her cheek _(just missed the corner of her mouth, she doesn't notice)_ in a gesture she isn't entirely prepared for. She can feel a hot flush suffocating her as he leans away and the heady scent of sweat and dirt and too much rice wine rushes past her nose.

"Toph," he whispers excitedly, his face very close to hers, the heat of his skin tickling her cheeks _(she wonders if her heat tickles right back)_, "I finally did it."

The warm air of her own breath bounces off his face and back into hers as she replies faintly, "Did what?" She knows there's too much wine in his blood for him to notice, but the breathiness in her voice irritates her nonetheless.

"It took me forever," he says in a rush of air, half-sliding half-tripping into the small space next to her, the small space clearly only meant for one. A lanky leg folds under his body as he turns to face her.

"To do what?" she asks again, her voice gaining authority that is lost the moment his hands grasp at her waist and drag her half into his lap.

She tucks one leg under her body in a reflection of his position and fights the furious blush spreading over her body. His hands are still hot on her skin, riding up her hips and down the full length of her arms. He grips her hands tightly in his.

She can feel his eyes sliding over her face in that intimate way she's learned to get used to but is still not quite comfortable with. He leans in closer and she _knows_ he's smiling at her, that smile she knows so well.

"I want you to stand next to me at the wedding," he breathes.

Her breath catches in her throat and the alcohol in her stomach sloshes around unbidden. Something painfully similar to hope wells up in her chest before she has the chance to crush it.

"What?"

That smile never leaves his face. "You're my best friend, Toph," he murmurs, his breath bathing her in sweet wine. "I want it to be you."

She has to choke the words out. "Sokka, I thought—"

"I want you to be my best man."

The words halt against her teeth. —_you were dating Suki.) _

"Well, not best man," and he laughs. "Best woman."

Suddenly, suddenly, he's out of focus, and all she can see is herself: blood pounding through her veins, throat tight and constricting, breath coming in sharp gasps. Heart. Heart, broken.

No, not broken. Gone.

She's had her chances, it seems. And he's not one of them.


	25. follow up to 3&1, Engaged

**Author's Notes: **Since some people seem confused about _**3**_ in the last chapter (and that's my fault for not clarifying), I'm posting what was originally **_3_**. Hopefully this will clear everything up, but if there are still any questions, feel free to ask!

Alisa

* * *

**_3._**

Her third engagement is arranged when she is nineteen, and this time, it's of her own free will.

His name is Hotaru _(firefly, he tells her)_. He reminds her of a firefly, too—swift, fluttery, bright, lighting up her world. People tell her she's so lucky, that he's such a handsome man, that they will have such a happy life together.

And she believes it.

She's so very much in love, like she never thought she could be. She loves everything about him, from the way his smile translates through his vibrations to the way he always knows when she needs help but is too stubborn to admit it. He is sweet and innocent and kind and funny and smart with her when she's smart with him.

He is perfect. He is nothing like _him_.

Him. Sokka. Her best friend. Her once-upon-a-dream lover.

She swore to herself, a long time ago, that her childish crush on the boy would never be anything more than a childish crush. Of course, it didn't turn out that way, just as it never does.

She still sees him now, every once in a while, and he's still one of her dearest friends. And he still, she is reminded on his every return, holds a small part of her heart in his hands. But the majority of her heart, the heart still intact, has already been captured by the pretty words and kind actions of the boy who lives three houses down.

She introduces them once, just to see how they will react to each other.

They all go out to eat at her favorite restaurant. Sokka orders her favorite dish, just like he always used to do, and shares it with her, just like they always used to do. She can tell Hotaru is jealous of the attention she gives her long-lost friend, but he ignores it and instead asks questions: how they met, of their adventures with the Avatar, if Sokka has a girlfriend. Her best friend scowls at the last one.

When their little party is over, Toph leaves Hotaru on his doorstep to contemplate the kiss she left on his lips. Sokka she merely drags back to her house and drops on the couch. He's unusually quiet, and she waits for him to say something, entertaining herself with Bending her meteorite bracelet.

When he finally speaks, it's to say, "I don't like him."

Toph grins a self-righteous grin and replies, "Good."

She is engaged the next day.

The wedding is set for within the month. Her suitor has met everyone of importance. Katara finds him ridiculously charming ("if only you could see how handsome he is, Toph, you'd fall in love all over again!"). Aang is enraptured now that he has someone new to entertain with all his old Airbending tricks. Appa and Momo seem to squeak and grunt their approval. Even Sokka grudgingly admits he's an okay guy.

She's never been happier, Toph thinks.

And then, just like it has the habit of doing, Toph's world collapses in on itself.

A small group of Fire Nation rebels are attacking the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. The Earth King is taking a small group of sixth regimen soldiers to deal with the problem.

Hotaru never told her he was in the army.

He's departing in a week. It's not enough time to move up the wedding. It's not enough time for her to say everything she wants to say to him. It's not enough _time_.

Because she knows, deep within her, that there's the very real possibility that he might not come back.

"Don't worry about me," he says, kissing her cheek as she scowls. "You know how tough I am. You know how much I love you."

She knows, but that's not enough to keep him alive.

When he dies in a Fire Nation rebel raid, she swears never to fall in love again.

Of course, it never works out that way, does it?


End file.
